


The Long Road & the Slow Knife

by AnnaCipactli12



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, The Tudors (TV)
Genre: Crossover Pairings, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, Drama & Romance, Friendship/Love, Fusion of Star Wars Legends and Disney Canon, Gen, Multiple Crossovers, Prophetic Dreams, Prophetic Visions, Self-Fulfilling Prophecy, Skywalker Family Drama, Slow Burn, Slow Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-24
Updated: 2020-07-01
Packaged: 2021-03-02 20:14:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 17
Words: 63,905
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24352672
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnnaCipactli12/pseuds/AnnaCipactli12
Summary: In a universe where Anakin wasn't scarred but he still became Darth Vader, he fixated upon a different pretty face, who in spite of the abyss she saw in him, would not let him go until he became hers. Together, they crafted a darker destiny for themselves and the galaxy.
Relationships: Katherine Howard/Darth Vader, Leia Organa/Han Solo
Comments: 2
Kudos: 33





	1. Dark paradise

The first time that Kitty Howard ran into Anakin Skywalker, she was assigned to Ane of Cleves' retinue. She was part of the King's welcoming party for his future wife. Rumor had it, that the King could not wait to get rid of his ungrateful brat, the Lady Mary. His eldest daughter had been rebellious for far too long, and the King had been far too tolerant but finally, his patience had run thin.

Before the Lady Anna came, the King invited her cousin, Philip, Count Palatine for the new Year celebration. He was a dashing man, a Prince through and through. Penniles though he was, he more than made up in his intellect and war record.

Her cousin, Kate Carey, told Kitty the Lady Mary should be grateful that her father was even considering this marriage since he had spoken to a Republic official that if he had his way, she'd die a spinster. But alas, destiny had its final say. Personally, Kitty saw nothing wrong in the Lady Mary choosing her own path. She was a King's daughter, was she not? Her maternal grandparents were the Catholic Kings. Christendom's greatest Kings. Her mother had won a victory against the Scots that ended with the death of their King. If anyone was qualified to make decisions, it was her.

But like her father, Lady Mary quickly learned that in this world no woman was free to choose her path in life. Had she been eager to marry, her father would have thought the match dangerous and dismissed it. But her obstinate attitude was what convinced him to signed the marriage contract. The poor girl had to be dragged to the altar a day before her father's wedding.

Kitty felt sorry for both, the Queen-to-be and the Lady Mary. Both women had been lambs to the slaughter and in a way so had she.

Anakin Skywalker was a married man. That had not bothered her before, but the Hero Without Fear was a different matter altogether. She told him that she never wanted him to be the center of attention. She could tell how much it bothered him. His apprentice noticed the mutual attraction between them and warned her that she'd get her heart broken because Anakin's heart belonged to another.

"I do not need you interfering or giving me advice."

"Take it or leave it, I am doing this as a favor to both my master and to you. You are a good person, lady Howard. I can tell and it's not through the Force, I have seen you act nobler than other ladies, but you also give too much importance to your physical attributes which I don't think I need to remind you for I am sure others have done that already, fade in time."

"Thank you for pointing the obvious, padawn but I have survived this long thanks to them, have I not? What I do with my life is my business, and the same goes for your master. You are his apprentice, not his nanny. It's you who respond to him, not the other way around." She chastised.

She should have listened to Ahsoka Tano. So much could have been avoided if she had. While Henry VIII was looking for ways out of his marriage with Anna of Cleves, she was looking for ways to convince Anakin to leave his wife. This was not like her previous liaisons. Mannox had taken advantage of her and Dereham had become so smitten with her, that he ended up believing that the two would marry based on his position on my lady, the Duchess Dowager of Norfolk's household.

Then there was Culpepper. A fine, outrageously handsome lad, but far too brash for her liking. If Anakin had not entered the picture, she would have probably reciprocated his attentions and gotten herself involved in a major scandal -one which not even her uncle, the Duke of Norfolk would have been able to save her from. But as usual, Kitty was drawn to danger. Anakin found her charming and was drawn to her, but his feelings weren't strong to get him to leave his wife. So Kitty kept pushing until she got him to open up to him and that was when she hooked him, planting seeds of doubt that made him question his love for Padme.

She met the Senator. Now that was a self righteous politician unlike anyone Kitty had ever seen, who thought herself better than anyone. How could Anakin ever fall in love with her? She asked him one night, and he told her the story of how they met and how he came to be freed and admitted into the Jedi Order.

 _No wonder,_ thought Kitty. _He was just a little boy. She was an angel to him, just like Mannox was the moon and the stars to me._ But she was twelve then, Anakin was far younger. 

But Anakin was still too attached to her to admit the truth. He got angry when she could not hold it any longer and told him that his love for Padme wasn't love. "Did you ever stop to think that she is only with you because deep down she sees you as a lost litlte boy in need of saving, the only one who can help you?"

"Padme is not like the other politicians. She's been at the head of her soldiers and fought long and hard for oppressed peoples which is more than I can say for Earth leaders."

"Earth has its flaws but it has its good things here. Our leaders don't pretend to be anything other than what they are." But Anakin remained convinced of his flawless Senator.

Finally, one day everything went to hell. The Jedi Order was no more. The Old Republic was transformed into the Galactic Empire with the Chancellor proclaiming himself Emperor. Second in command was none other than the galaxy's chosen one, Anakin Skywalker, renamed "Darth Vader".

The Sith were considered evil, an opinion shared by everyone on Earth, including Kitty's family. But truth be told, while everyone on Earth mourned the end of the Old Republic, Kitty was unperturbed by this regime change.

All that mattered was that Anakin, or rather Lord Vader, was free of that two-faced Padme Amidala. In the midst of all this chaos, Vader hardly had time to rekindle their relationship. But I found a way. Where there is a will, there is a way. It was only a matter of time before the Emperor sent his lapdog to Earth and she had him back where she wanted.

 _Turns out, I was a fool once again for dreaming big._ The minute he saw her, they both knew there was no turning back. She'd dug her grave, and so had he. He was not the same man she fell in love with but she didn't care. He was hers and hers alone. 

Her uncle, who had been prepping her to be the King's mistress after he'd gotten his German consort to give him a second son, thus ensuring that the crown would have an heir and a spare to secure the Tudor dynasty; quickly abandoned those plans when she told him about her and Vader.

Mistress to the Emperor's second in command and presumptive heir was much better than the King's whore. But still, her uncle for all his ambitious, aimed too low. _I saw him for who he truly was, and he's the only one who saw me more than just another pretty face. I wanted it all and what I wanted, I was determined to get._ With the path cleared for her, it wasn't hard to obtain it.

The Queen had become a good friend of hers and wished her well but adviced her to be careful. There was a darkness in Vader which rivalled the Emperor. If Anna saw it, then everyone else also did. Kitty held her tongue. Anna was a kind hearted woman but she too understimated her. Kitty had seen that long before Anakin had fallen to the dark side. "I will be alright, Your Majesty. My faith in God is strong and it will help me through the tough times."

Anna promised she'd prayed for her. Kitty thanked her. As she predicted, Vader couldn't resist her allure, and after he promised to take her to far away places and present her to the emperor for his approval, her fate was sealed and with it, the fate of the galaxy. 

The emperor approved our union. I was a silly, vainglorious girl with nothing on my head except pretty clothes and endless credits to spend on other frivoloties. But the old man, just like my aging uncle and my step-grandmother, soon found out that I am much more than a pretty face.

Two years after the disastrous battle of Yavin, the Emperor was poisoned. The culprit was severely punished. Supported by most Moffs and former Republic generals, Vader declared himself Emperor. The young man who was the hope of the galaxy, the idealist and the war hero was gone. In his stead was another kind of savior, one who'd do whatever it took to save the galaxy from itself. By his side was Kitty, using her charm and people skills to win him popular acclaim.

Everything seemed perfect, until he found the truth behind the Rebel hero who destroyed the Death Star.

~o~

PRESENT DAY 

EARTH YEAR 1570

24th IMPERIAL GALACTIC YEAR

When you stare long into the abyss, the abyss stares back at you. If someone were to have told her she would have been standing here, next to the most powerful man in the galaxy, overseeing his daughter's punishment, she would have laughed

I wanted nothing more to be in love, married with a litter of kids calling after me as they chased me in an open field while I waited for my husband to return from court. She always aimed higher than anyone else. She was a Howard and Howards were the best at everything because they were always one stop ahead of everyone. Before her was Princess Leia, self righteous like her mother and her adoptive parents, she stared defiantly at the two of them.

Vader promised her a general pardon to her and her friends if she pledged her loyalty to him but her response was to wish both of their deaths. Kitty's face hardened when she heard this. Vader removed his armor, including his helmet and walked towards her. "Be grateful that I am keeping your title of Princess or you'd be faring far worse than you're now."

"I have fared far worse or have you forgotten what you made me endure on the death star?"

"That was before I knew you were my daughter. We were all deceived by Sidious, his leadership plunged the galaxy into civil war. I intend to set things right." Vader told her.

"Lies! You are just like Sidious, wrapped up in a finer package but just like him. Torture me all you want, I rather you do that than having to parade me as your daughter. I am not your daughter. My father is Bail Organa, Prince and Senator of Alderaan, Consort to Queen Breha, my mother."

"Insolent girl." He turned to Kitty. Kitty stepped forward. "She is the reason you are stil here. In the past, others let you get away with everything because your so called parents raised you into believing that your righteousness gave you the right to act as you pleased since you were serving the greater good, but that will no longer be tolerated. Like it or not, you are my daughter and Luke is your brother. Both of you will be conditioned into submission."

Leia however held her ground. Kitty grudgingly admitted that she admired her. But Vader saw nothing worthy of admiration. "She is as foolish as her adoptive father." He said.

"Give her time, she will change. And if not, use her love to keep her in check."

Once again, her understanding of people's emotions helped Vader keep his rivals in tight leash. Kitty had seen the longing looks that passed between the Princess and the swashbuckling pirate, turned rebel hero. Controlling her through him was what would ensure her obedience.

Leia wasted no time making her dislike for Kitty known. Kitty didn't mind. Luke was far less hostile, but no less receptive to her kindness. 

Both twins finally came to their senses when the Rebels plotted a surprise attack against them. Among the plotters were the Naberries. Their betrayal broke Leia the most. Luke still believed he could redeem his father, but that hope was slowly fading. Leia however was the one who had lost everything. After she had seen her planet destroyed, she had taken comforts in the Rebels. They became her surrogate family. Now, she felt more alone than ever. 

Like Kitty, she learned that women had no say when it comes to destiny. You either adapt or you live the rest of your life fighting a losing battle.

Han Solo remained a problem. The man was not an idealist but neither was he someone who loved following orders. He was an adventurer and the idea of seeing his beloved Princess lost to darkness, enraged him but unlike Leia, he was not stupid to voice his hatred of Kitty and Vader. He kept his mouth shut during the whole time, until the galaxy was pacified at last, unified under the rule of Vader and his loyal empress, Kathryn Howard.

A peace forged by blood and suffering. But didn't every triumph come at a cost? Vader had sacrificed his idealism and she her romanticism. It was worth. She had stared at the abyss for so long that it was now staring back at her but she didn't regret it one bit.


	2. New Dark Future

**I don’t know where this will go, but if I continue seeing support like I saw from ladyj (thanks by the way!) then I will continue this fic. So leave a kudos and comment!**

**Without further ado, as the old bard would say, here’s chapter 2**

* * *

**CORUSCANT  
EARTH YEAR 1570  
24TH IMPERIAL GALACTIC YEAR**

They were driven out to the middle of the street. Throngs of people had come to see them. Leia was being paraded like a trophy. Gawked at and forced to smile at the men and women who had once looked at her and her twin brother like a beacon of hope.

If it were up to Kitty, she would not have brought the Princess with them.

Past the busiest sector in Coruscant, was the Imperial palace, formerly the Jedi Temple. Han Solo was there, waiting for Leia in her chambers.

The two could not wait to be in each other’s arms. As soon as Leia started complaining about her, Han rolled his eyes. “She is not the one calling the shots Vader is. You got get over your hatred for her, Your Imperial Highness.”

“Don’t call me that.” She chided but Han’s droll sense of humor was not dimmed. “You’re not helping, Han. If you could take this seriously for once and give me some pointers”

“Well, what pointers can I give when your father is the damn emperor of the fucking galaxy and his Queen is has everyone wrapped around her little finger? The Rebels had you and Luke to counter her propaganda but now that you’re in his thrall, they have nothing.” Han sighed, he ran his fingers through his dark brown wavy hair. “The best thing we can do right now is keep a low profile and wait for Mon Mothma to contact you.”

“Han, after everything that’s happened, what in the world makes you think she will want to speak to me?”

“She is the one that is keeping the galaxy together. If anyone can get past Vader it’s her. Besides, she knows you. So does Wedge, Riekan, Ezra, and everyone else who’s fought alongside you and Luke. They know that your light shines brighter than the twin suns of Tatooine.”

“You have a way with words, nerfherder.” She said. The two kissed, as their kiss got deeper, Han led her to the bed. It’d be so easy to just give in to their impulses but Leia, mindful of the consequences, stopped when he was about to penetrate her.

“We mustn’t. The Emperor has me, he won’t have our child.”

“There are ways to prevent that without having to abstain ourselves.” Han pointed out.

“That’s not the point, Han.” Leia said. “Vader is the enforcer and his Empress as you so eloquently put it, is his propaganda machine. If she is what gives him charisma, I must outshine her.”

“Leia, you will have to come out with a better strategy than that. You are Vader’s daughter. That’s the harsh reality. He is going to keep showing you off until you’re no longer a symbol of a failed rebellion but of his legacy. Mon is our last hope.”

Leia shook her head. She refused to believe that. “I am not going to end like my mother. She believed Vader still had good in him, I do not.” She told him. “Luke asked me if I remembered her and I told her that I did. I dreamed of how beautiful she was but always so sad. Thinking back to when Tarkin forced me to watch my planet blown up by that monstrous station, I wish that that I had died then.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. Luke was the hero the rebellion needed but you were the one that kept it going. Without you, we would have never gotten this far.”

Leia blinked.

“What?”

“You said we, not you. You finally chose a side.”

“Perhaps it is my desire of adventure and penchant for a challenge. There is no challenge being on the side of the dominant side and to be honest with you precious, there is a beauty in being on the side of the underdog.” Han said, his voice dripping with nostalgia. A sad smile was painted on his face. “Luke’s crazy but if there was ever a time to call for that magical Force of him, now is the time.”

“The Force will guide us. This is a setback,” Leia said, agreeing with what he said earlier, “but we will rise, stronger than ever. As long as we keep hope alive.”

“Ever the inspiring leader, Your Highness.” Han said with an open smile. Both kissed again.

* * *

Luke found the training sessions with the combat droids exhilarating and a good way to keep his mind off things. His father’s wife was nice but there was something off about her. Whenever she smiled, he felt she wasn’t really smiling. It felt fake and forced. But to everyone else fell for it.

Remember the Jedi Mantra. _There is no emotion, only peace_. Clear your mind, Luke. Let the Force flow through you and guide you. His father used the Force as a weapon and his wife saw it as a tool as well. He knew better. It was not a weapon of choice because it wasn’t a tool to be used at all, but as a guide. Those who lived by this mantra found a path cleared of doubts and uncertainties.

“There is no emotion, only peace.” Luke began again, this time repeating the Jedi Code aloud until it was drilled deep into his head, leaving no room for doubt, keeping the darkness at bay.

* * *

Kitty approached Vader. The years had not been kinder to him. The scars on the left side of his face had gotten more pronounced. But to Kitty, he remained the same ambitious man dreaming of cleansing the galaxy of its terrible crimes. Although that man had been replaced by a ruthless politician; he was still a visionary.

But the memory of his first wife plagued him. It made him angrier. Although he kept that anger in check, traces of it came out in the open whenever Leia spoke out, or Luke tried to get him to see the “error” of his ways.

Kitty was not the leading type. That position belonged to Vader. She was just the diplomat, the ornament, the mediator. As such, it fell on to lessen his anger, move him away from anything that distracted him from his end goal.

The door in front of her slid open and in was Vader. “What is it, this time? Leia giving you a hard time?”

“It is nothing like that. If it were, you’d be sending her another lady to spy on her.” Kitty said crossly.

“She is not a little girl who merits pity. She is a grown woman who needs to learn to accept her place.”

“I agree but for our family’s sake, we need to make this work.” Kitty said archly. “Show some kindness. Kindness goes a long way these days, especially when people see how the rebels reward your mercy with acts of terror.”

“That’s all well, as I think we need to push for that narrative harder.” Vader agreed –to a certain point. “But Solo is another animal entirely. The man is a rogue who doesn’t respect anything or anyone.”

“He’s her pet. As long as he is here, she is under your control. The minute he slips from your fingers, she goes and so does Luke and so does our daughter.”

At the mention of their daughter, Vader’s blood boiled. Their daughter was only thirteen but already exhibiting a strong Force abilities that almost rivalled her half-siblings. Almost. If the three united against him, they’d surely beat him and everything he had worked for would be in ruins.

 _Anakin Skywalker, the hero without fear, is afraid of his own flesh and blood._ It was ironic. He controlled the entire galaxy but he could not keep his house in order.

“Putting more droids to spy on her or worse, one of your ugly looking Moff women is not going to lessen her resolve. I have a better idea.” Kitty opined. “The Duchess of Bavaria and Countess Palatine has recently become a widow. She can be placed in the Princess’ household as her confidant and our trusted spy.”

Vader scoffed. “The woman betrayed her husband, why would I trust my daughter’s safety to someone like that?”

“Her husband was a rebel and a traitor. I’d say she deserves credit for what she did. Besides, it placed her a rank above others and isn’t protecting the galaxy and in the process rising higher than your enemies, something to be valued?”

“When you put it that way, it does make sense but no. I’d rather put the most incompetent stormtrooper than that turncoat.”

“Suit yourself then.” Kitty said with a smile. Vader would change his mind. He’d come to realize she was right and when he did, she’d say ‘I told you so’ in the form of a winning smile.

Kitty switched the topic to Luke. “Our daughter has formed a bond with him. And he’s taken a liking to her too, not to mention Palpatine’s former assassin, Mara. Light and dark, makes for a potent force.” She mused.

“Luke’s influence will extend no more than meditation. He will be severely punished if he goes beyond that.” Vader warned.

“Of course, but there is no harm in learning every kind of technique. Light and dark are all part of the Force, and to master it, you have to study every aspect of it.”

Kitty had a point, but Vader’s mind was made up. As she left, Kitty’s words lingered on Vader’s mind.


	3. No Heroes Left

_"Look for a hero and I will show you a grave of a man that history has long forgotten. History is written by the winners and forged by those with the will to set aside destiny and rewrite their stories to something that is more to their liking." Lost Histories of the Galaxy by Princess Jaina Fel-Solo_

Leia did not believe that the state of the galaxy could get worse. Lately, she’d been remembering her mother, speaking her words while she slept with Han. He was a gentle man. Just as he promised, he did not pressure her into giving herself to him.

She was not going to sacrifice everything she had accomplished and in the process put Han’s life in peril. She was trying to find ways to get Han out of here. If Han stayed, she’d remain in Vader’s control, and she feared what she was becoming.

I am not going to join his dark crusade. My mother wasted her life in the pursuit of a noble goal. When Kitty found out she nearly convinced one of the guards to let her see Han past the curfew that Vader set for them, instead of punishing the imperial guards, he took Kitty’s advice. In their place, the Duchess of Bavaria was put in charge of the Princess’ household.

Leia had no personal opinion on this woman. Her haughty expression told her not to expect any special favors from her, but as far as hating or disliking her went, Leia felt nothing for her.

“My lady, as you are aware, His Imperial Majesty has commissioned me to appoint your servants and oversee the rest of your household along with your brother’s assimilation.”

 _Is that what they’re calling it these days_? Leia’s expression hardened, matching that of the Duchess Dowager. “My lady Duchess, I am certainly aware of how things work on Earth but this is not Earth, as the first Imperial Princess, I expect to be treated accordingly.”

“You are a Princess without a kingdom. It’s thanks to Her Imperial Majesty’s mercy that you are allowed these honors. If you wish to be treated with respect, with all due respect Madame, I suggest you start showing it to your superiors. Until then, I bid you farewell so you can get accustomed to your new surroundings.”

Mary wheeled around and hurried off into the parlor where the new servants were waiting to be sworn in.

Leia was fuming. _How dare she?_ Kitty Howard had no idea who she was. Her mother was the greatest senator that ever lived. A crusader for truth and justice. _If Vader and his little kitten think they can intimidate me with this harridan, they are dead wrong_.

She still hadn’t gotten used to the idea of calling him ‘father’ but for the sake of annoying him, she did. If I can live the rest of my life, making his a living hell, surviving will be worth it.

**~o~**

The following morrow, Kitty visited the Duchess Dowager of Bavaria. “How fares my darling stepdaughter? Has she been giving you any trouble?” She asked, wrapping her arms around Leia’s overseer.

“Not yet.” Mary Wittelsbach nee Tudor said, not returning the Empress’ embrace.

“Don’t be such a spoil sport, Your Grace. She will warm to you soon.” Kitty said, in that same joyous voice that always annoyed Mary Tudor.

“Let’s not beat around the bush, Madame. I know why you chose me to spy on your stepdaughter and I don’t hold that against you, but I ask that you treat me as your equal.”

“Fair enough. But I see no reason why you should be so serious. This is after all the opportunity of a lifetime. No other terrestrial gets to climb this high, except me of course. Your sons and daughters will be cared off and married to the highest ranking members of the Empire.”

“And in turn, you and Vader get to bring them closer to you, ensuring their complete obedience.” Mary smirked. “My offspring were raised by me, so any dissent or whiff of treason will be immediately reported back to the Emperor and in return, you’ll reward them by giving them their spouses’ positions.”

“You’re far too clever for your own good. Correct me if I am wrong, but is it true that you also brought my cousin, Elizabeth, Lady of Ireland and the Americas?”

“She is my relative too, Your Imperial Majesty. Who better to aid me than her? We are both Princess of the blood and the only ones left in our family with our father’s strength.” Mary said firmly.

Kitty could not dispute that, but it bothered her to have to face her cousin so soon. Elizabeth had openly objected to her union with Vader. _“He’s evil, he will cut you down like my father did with my mother.”_ Poor tot. At the time she was only a child who knew nothing of the world or the true nature of the galaxy. There was nothing more than Kitty wanted than reconnect with Elizabeth. _She and I used to be such good friends._ _Perhaps this she will come to her senses and use our kinship to advance in imperial society._  
It was decided, she’d grant Mary Tudor’s request and let Elizabeth stay with her. “After she settles in, tell her that she is to report to me … if she feels like it. I want to feel all of my staff comfortable.”

Mary did not argue with her there. Her half-sister was far more unpredictable than her, and at times, she didn’t even know what she wanted. With Kitty’s leave, Mary resumed to her domestic chores.

Every one of the imperial servants swore loyalty to the Emperor, promising to report directly to her who in turn would report directly to Vader.

“You must admit this is more responsibility than you promised me. ‘Power and glory’. Those were your exact words.” Lizzy said, coming out of her hiding spot. She disposed of her working clothes. Black and red simple gowns used by the imperial handmaidens.

“If it weren’t my lies, you wouldn’t have come here, Lizzy. This is far better than Ireland and the other wastelands the Empress gave you.”

“You don’t have to speak too kindly of her. Even if she has the room bugged, she still needs you. And you are Mary Tudor; if anyone can find herself out of a sticky situation, it is you. Why else would she have given you this huge responsibility?”

“You overestimate my abilities. I am not as smart as I appear to be.”

“You are wiser which is far more than I can say for your new charge.” Lizzy said.

“Our charge.” Mary corrected, firmly reminding Lizzy that she shared her responsibility of watching over the imperial princess. “This is a dangerous place we’ve come to, Elizabeth.” She said, using her sister’s full name –something she only did when she was deadly serious. “The emperor is not a man to trifle with. If we fail, not even his empress will stop him from butchering us like cattle.”

“You don’t have to remind me.” Lizzy had firsthand experience with the Emperor’s wrath. Before he was the emperor, when he was second to Darth Sidious, he had come to Earth and appointed her lady of Ireland. The King of England then, had laughed at him and told him there was no way he’d comply. In response, Vader returned the day after, arresting him and his immediately family. Sidious contacted him, fooling him into thinking that he had no idea of Vader’s trespass. He got him to accept Vader’s terms, promising him to re-install him as soon as he dealt with Vader but that never happened.  
A month after Lizzy and Mary’s youngest half-brother was installed as King of England with Mary, Queen of Scots as his child bride and additional puppet of Vader and Sidious, Edward VI and his entire family came down with the sweating sickness and died within hours of each other.  
Lizzy lamented her brother’s death but she couldn’t deny that she felt happy with her new position as Lady of Ireland and Protector of other lands where its leaders had been disposed of for rebelling against the Empire.

It was more power than every woman could have dreamed of. What was more, it had brought her back to Mary, who helped her grow into the powerful woman she was today.

Now that she was here with her, in the capital of the galaxy, Lizzy swore to herself that the two Tudor sisters would be as thick as thieves, inseparable and unbeatable. After all, were it not for their father, their mothers, Anne Boleyn and Catherine of Aragon, might have been good friends. The two women were a credit to their gender, feared and admired by all. Their daughters would use this new appointment as a way to honor their mothers and keep their legacy alive, becoming the most influential women in the galaxy, second only to the Empress.

“Are these many servants necessary?” Lizzy asked, going over the data pad that had all the people Mary selected to Leia’s household. “Some of them, are of questionable reputation.”

“Leia Vader used to be the most respected and admired Princess of the galaxy. After her planet was blown up, she was still considered royalty. The Emperor expects his daughter to comply and the only way to get her to do that, is to treat her as a disobedient child.”

“I hardly think that _child_ will appreciate the lesson. Her tantrum may result in regrouping with her rebel friends.”

“Then let her.” Mary said, surprising Lizzy. Mary chuckled and explained to her sister why this was all part of Vader’s artful masterplan. “The Emperor knows that nothing Kitty says or does will win over his insolent daughter. He is counting on her contacting the last remnants of the rebel alliance so he finishes them off once and for all, and when that happens, he uses his last ace under his sleeve.”

Lizzy gasped, realizing whom her sister meant. “Han Solo! But he wouldn’t! The Princess would never forgive him and what about Luke? He’d kill him for sure.”

“A small price to pay to get his son to embrace his dark legacy.” Mary said. “No one wins against the head of state. The sooner the Princess comes to terms with this, the less blood she will have on her hands.”

* * *

**MID-RIM SECTOR**

Ahsoka sighed. She stood over the tombs she had made of her fellow Clone soldiers and herself two decades ago. Now she had dug another tomb, this time for Ezra.

The news of his demise hit her hard. Every one she had been close to was dead. Anakin, I left you twice _. I should have not gone to Mandalore, I should have stayed with you._

She would not have captured Maul, but she would have saved her former master’s soul. _That would have led to a different outcome_. Sidious would not have risen and you would not have married that trollop.

Ashoka closed her eyes. A tear fell from her eye. Anakin Skywalker was alive inside that monster. She knew this to be true because she had seen humanity in his eyes the last time she confronted him.

There is only one thing to do. She owed it to her master and everyone else who had fought alongside her. If I can’t save you, I will die trying.

She was speaking the truth when she told Vader she was not a Jedi. She was simply a citizen, fighting for what was right.

Tucking the last recording she had collected from Ezra which was a holo-recording of her and Anakin when they were master and apprentice, she turned around and boarded her ship. She set the coordinates for the wasteland of Jakku.


	4. Fighting Evil from Within

_"When people ask how the galaxy should remember the Skywalker twins and the rogue pirate-turned admiral, Han Solo, we should turn the tables and ask them instead why is it that we still remember them? In terms of greatness, there were others who killed, sacrificed themselves or did far more than they did, in the name of an ideal. Yet, it is not the quantity but the quality that history urges us to evaluate ... All three of them formed a single entity that when separated, they were vulnerable. No one knew this better than Vader." ~The Golden Trio: Forgiven but not Forgotten by Princess Jaine Solo-Fel, edited by Lady Tudor_

**CORUSCAN** **T**

Four months. _Four long months,_ Leia thought angrily. That is how long it had passed since Vader had crushed the rebellion and placed his unruly offspring under the thumb of the Duchess Dowager of Bavaria and Countess Palatine's thumb. Lady Elizabeth was worse. She pretended to be your friend. A hypocrite to boot, and then when you let your guard down, she used whatever it was you disclosed to her, against you -or kept it, to use it later when it suited her.

To make matters worse, the Tudor sisters felt on top of the world that they had brought their own lapdogs to supplant some of their earlier appointees. One of them was lady Susan White. Han's latest attempt of escape had nearly worked but the woman, whom Leia swore had eyes on the back of her head, knew of his plan beforehand but let him become confident. Why? Leia guessed it had to do with her mistress' amusement. 

There was some sick fascination that the Duchess Dowager had in destroying others' hopes. And _something_ else. What? Leia could not guess but she sensed it and she was certain Luke did as well. Instead of punishing him though, the Tudor sisters chose to humiliate him, mocking his unknown lineage and his foolishness for a week until they grew tired.

"They are admirable ladies.” Leia said begrudgingly to Han. Behind her were the Lady Mary’s best friend Susan White and her half-sister, Lady Elizabeth.

“She is.” Han said. Unlike Leia though, he couldn’t bring himself to sound so genuine. “Imagine the wonderful lute player she invited last month to her palace, calling her the Imperial rose. Your daddy sure knows how to pick ‘em.” He looked past Leia at her female guardians and flashed them a cocky smile. “You can tell them, I said that along with my felicitations for sparing the ghost crew.”

“You don’t change at all.”

“Would you love me if I wasn’t so polite?” Han asked, again flashing that cocky smile that always won her over. “We are going to get through, Leia. There is always a way out.”

Leia loved Han’s bravado. “Chances are this time we are certainly doomed.”

“Hey, you are the rebel leader, the brains of this operation and the kid is the inspiration. Figure it out, sweetheart.”

“I swear Han if you call me that one more time –“ He shut her up, kissing her. “Stop that. We’re not in Cloud City and you are a poor judge of character if you think I can coax an entire empire to overthrow their evil dictator.”

“You’re the one who set the end goal, not me. Remind the galaxy what kind of man Vader is, the people he betrayed and you will have the rebellion reborn from the ashes up.”

Despite Han’s recklessness, the man was no idiot. His observant nature shined through on occasion.

**~o~**

The following morrow, as if the Force had answered her prayers, she saw Luke. Her immediate response was to hug him. He hugged her back. “I missed you.” He could not hold himself back either. It was recent that they had discovered their connection. Partly through their father and partly through the Force –which confirmed his revelations.

“Look at you. You don’t look so short anymore.” She remarked and Luke could only give her a sad smile. It was good to reminisce about the time they met, when they were the shining beacons of hope for a lost cause, they turned into a winning one.

“Her Grace said that you were not allowed many visitors. She is not susceptible to the Force as the other servants but I managed to use some of those negotiating skills that I borrowed from you and Han to convince her to let me see you.”

Somehow that seemed doubtful. Luke always sang praised of her skills and had very little negative things to say about Han, but when he did, he was brutally honest. And yet, it is my brother whose light has always made the impossible feel possible. His dreams come true. She voiced this last part to him, adding half-joking that at last he was showing common sense. “There is something else I need to discuss with you, and I don’t think you are going to like it one bit.”

“What is new then? But in all seriousness Leia, it can’t get any worse than this. Whatever it is you are planning, count me in.”

“You say that now but you won’t be so agreeable once I am done.” Luke’s brow furrowed in confusion. He had never heard Leia talk so gravely. Leia let her emotions flow so Luke could see that she was not being deceptive. When she finished explaining her plan, Luke was shocked.

His shock however was short. It was quickly replaced by anger. “How can you even think of such a thing?” Leia moved closer to him, grabbing his hand but he pushed her away. “This is Vader w are talking about. Millions died fighting them, among them our friends. People we knew and who believed in us. Countless billions more when Vader blew up your planet!” He raised his voice in the last sentence.

“Believe me, Luke, I am not happier than you are but we have no other choice. Sometimes the best way to victory is compromise. Plunging a small knife and making a flesh wound, but leaving that knife there without your victim realizing it, is far more damaging –slower, yes- than any quick action.”

“That is political nonsense. There is always a way out, Leia. Always!” Luke yelled turning his back to her.

“Luke, think this through! Vader is not going to live forever. By royal decree, we will be the ones to take his place after his dies. Once we are in his seat, we can change things back to the way they used to be.”

“How do you know you won’t be drunk with power? All it takes Leia is one touch of the dark side.” Luke said, remembering all too well what Yoda had taught him.

“Not with you by my side. That is why I need you. You have a power that I can never have. I am not strong in the Force as you are, but I know politics. Together we can bring back democracy and end the Sith once and for all.” She ran to him but he pushed her away, not bothering to look her in the eye. He was far too disgusted with her. “Luke, I won’t force you to do something you do not want to but I hope you reconsider because you are a hero. That is who you are. You’re right, all of our friends died so we could live. What greater slap in the face than to let them die so you can play martyr?”

“That is way below the belt. You cannot pin their deaths on me. If my destiny is to be a martyr then so be it. I am a Jedi like our father was before he became that monster.”

“Fine then, become a martyr. What about our little sister? Do you want to see her raised by those two?” That made him look at her again. “She’s warmed up to you. She has a good heart, certainly her mother’s charm with none of her ambition but as you said, it only takes one touch of the dark side to fall. Are you that selfish that you’ll rather stop trying and die and leave her to the wolves?”

A long pause followed. When Luke broke the ice, he hissed, “Damn you” then spun around and left.

* * *

Han was a man of action. Hearing from the kid what Leia had planned, disappointed him but she saw the beauty of her plan. “I can’t believe you are agreeing to this madness. You are the one who always goes on about how her plans will get us all killed!”

“The rebellion is no more, kid. Sometimes it is best to put all your eggs in one basket than breaking them at random.”

“Obi Wan was right, I cast the die when I went to Cloud City. I doomed us all.”

“Do not be so melodramatic kid. That old man thinks emotions are a poison. I am not familiar with the Jedi as you are but I know enough of them, to know that even if your father had not turned, their days are numbered.” Han said, then added quickly sensing an objection was coming from Luke. “The Jedi believed they were high and mighty and to a certain degree they are, but they lost their humanity in the process. There is nothing special about mind tricks and wielding a lightsaber. Those are just tricks, kid. It’s the people who do the impossible without ever using the Force that inspire others, give them hope. Sure, the Force helped you in your endeavors but blowing up the Death Star, rescuing your friends and freeing many others, that was all you. The will of the Force is nothing compared to a person’s will.”

“But the Sith don’t see things that way and as heroic as you make me sound, I am no hero.”

“You are, kid. It’s not what you asked for, but we all have to work with what we have. Use that Force of yours, let it guide you if you want, but don’t let it control your destiny. Remember who you are and what you stand for.” Han said. “As long as you do, they will never own you.”

Han Solo’s words struck a chord in Luke. All his life, he had been a tool, a weapon for the Force to use, and a means to an end. Now for the first time, he was given the reins to do as he pleased with his destiny.

Was it possible to stay on the light side when the dark side was everywhere you look? As he returned to his chambers, he remembered something his aunt Beru always told him when he was a child, to help him sleep whenever he had nightmares. _“Even in the shadows, a spark of light can shine brighter than the sun itself.”_

_For my father –the man he used to be, and my mother –the woman who loved and believed in him until the very end, I will survive and see that their sacrifice is not in vain._


	5. The games of women

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Starting from this chapter, this series will be a minor crossover with two other fandoms. Pop culture junkies will notice right away.

_"And so it ends. My race is run. I regret nothing. It was fun."_ -Etrigan in Justice League Dark Apokolips War (2020_

**~o~**

**From Takkodana to Corustcant**

“What do you need me for, anyway?” When Ahsoka came to Takodana to ask for pointers, Maz Kanata did not expect her to be so blunt. “I relayed to you everything I had to relay. Let me remain here in peace.”

“You sold information to Han Solo at the cost of pence, as the Earthlings would say. What has changed since then?”

“You really want to know? Fine, then. Sit down while I drown my sorrows in English ale.”

“Maz!”

“Fine, fine.” The yellow midget alien said, giving an exasperated sigh. She took her to a place near her office. It was bigger but no less gritty. “So,” she started, her voice lingering like that of a snake, hissing before she flung herself at her prey, “you want to go down on Vader and his kitten and rescue his three children with what? Your two sabers and your staff of might? I got to tell you, Solo planned better heists than you when he was a rookie.”

“It’s not a laughing matter, Maz.”

“Of course it is not. I am warning you of what could happen, should you land yourself in a hotter mess than you are now. You were his apprentice. If you’re lucky he has called off the emperor’s search for you which means you can still have a life. That’s more than what I can say for all those poor devils he has in his palace, including Han.”

“You are a good friend of his, aren’t you Maz?”

“I wouldn’t say friend. Ally, unwilling partner in crime maybe but friend?” Maz scoffed. “You don’t get as old as I am making friends in this kind of business.”

“I am sorry for what has happened to you and the others but this could be our chance to regroup with what little is left of the Rebel Alliance and-“

Maz held a hand. “What’s the point? Have the courage to know when we are done for and the wisdom to change things that can be changed, is what Master Yoda always said –or something like it. There was no wisest Jedi in the galaxy than him. If he were walking in my shoes, he’d tell you the same thing.”

“Perhaps he would.” Ahsoka agreed then quickly added, “But he is not here, is he? And I am no longer a Jedi. Haven’t been one for decades and never will be again, but I still let the Force guide me. Even if in these darkest times, we must follow its will.”

“Very well, then.” Maz said giving exasperated sigh. “Can’t argue with Ahsoka the Grey.” She guffawed at her words. “That should be your new title, sounds much better than baby sister of Lord Vader.”

“Maz!”

“Fine, fine. Come with me. I have kept it hidden for three years. Came to me by accident.” Maz said, recounting how it was that she came about what was in her wooden chest in the basement of her bar. Opening it, Ahsoka gasped.

It could not be! Her master’s lightsaber.

“This was Anakin’s before Obi Wan passed it on to Luke, I am sure you know the story too well so there’s no need going to specifics. Before I came upon it, I had a dream, the equivalent of what you’d call a Force vision. It showed someone touching this lightsaber and seeing the memories of those who had held it. I don’t buy into superstition, but if the legends regarding Force memories on inanimate objects are true, there’s no better candidate to prove that theory correct than the chosen one’s lightsaber.”

Maz did not touch it. She beckoned Ahsoka to get closer. She did but nothing happened when she held it in her hands.

“Nothing, huh?” Maz shrugged. “Well, it was a worth a try. Perhaps the chosen one to grab this light side relic has yet to be revealed.”

“No.” Ahsoka said. Her firmness surprised Maz. “There is a chosen one and after he dies, his legacy dies with him.”

Ahsoka gave a final farewell to Maz. She wasted no time when she arrived to Coruscant. She ditched her ship, sold it to the lowest bidder, playing hard to get until she was _forced_ to accept the meager price he set. Then she set for the lower levels of Coruscant where lo and behold! Sandra Weyland.

“Took you long enough. Why all the secrecy? The emperor doesn’t think there are any dangers lurking.” Sandra said. The two met in one of the busiest bars in this low sector. Since the Emperor’s new mandates, things had become quieter so there was no longer any need to look past your shoulder.

Sandra and Ahsoka occupied two empty stools in the bar. Each of them ordered a different drink. Sandra being an Earthling, ordered something closer to home. “So, spill, why here and why now? What is the mission?”

“I have his saber.” Sandra shook her head. “It is not a wild goose chase. I have it and if what Maz told me about her Force visions are true, we can take this to one of his daughters and maybe elicit a reaction from His Imperial Highness.”

“The war is over Ahsoka. I had good moments. Bad but good compared to my boring life at Earth. You know I met someone recently?”

“No. Do tell. I am sure he must be of means, you always talked of marrying a Duke or an Earl once this was over.”

“I did, did I not? But no, the more I thought about it after … you know, my father and my brother Charles died, I thought about settling down and living a quiet life, escaping this lunatic asylum.”

“Just what kind of life will you be living where the Emperor still reigns supreme?” Ahsoka questioned her. “You’ll be exchanging one lunatic asylum for another and submitting your future children to a madness where there will be no escape.”

“At least it will be one where they don’t know they’re trapped. It is far better than the hell you and your Jedi submitted us to. I lived by that code. When my father learned that my brother was on his way to become a bishop and I was this close to becoming a Jedi Knight, he was beyond excited. We told him he might not have descendants. He did not care. ‘Be good, and never stop fighting for what is right’, he told us. Then the Empire came and it took everything he held dear. My brother was forced to condemn me and ally with Gardiner, and all the other two faced zealots from my planet who happily sold their honor to be kept alive. After he was murdered by Vader, I had no one so I turned my sights to Alan. He saved me. After he found me, in this exact same spot, drinking myself to death, he approached me. He knew who I was because he had also been in the Rebel Alliance, serving under Captain Solo and the other two members of the Alpha Team.” Sandra pushed a loose strand of auburn hair behind her ear. “He offered me shelter. I took it.”

“But haven’t you wondered about what might happen if…” Ahsoka paused. She chose better words. “If there is a remote possibility to turn things around, would you take it? "

In a heartbeat, Sandra said “Yes. But there isn’t. Vader made sure of that. We underestimated the Emperor’s dog and his kitten too much. That was our direst mistake. Our other one is engaging in this fool’s crusade of yours.”

Ahsoka’s face brightened. “So you have decided?”

“I follow the old ways, remember? I am still a Jedi to the core, the light runs strong in me and I still cling to the faith of my fathers.”

“What will your fiancé say?”

“Justice is in short supplies these days. He will understand.” Sandra said.

* * *

**Coruscant**

Following the battle of Hoth, Lord Vader had appointed his wife’s brothers, Charles, Henry, and George as prime directors of the core world ahead of the Emperor’s favorite. After he had become Emperor, they were elevated to Grand Moffs. Charles, the eldest of Kitty’s brothers, was also made governor, governing over the core world of Chandrila where the exiled and former leader of the Rebel Alliance, Mon Mothma hailed from.

Emerging victorious after putting down an insurrection from Hanna City, Governor and Grand Moff Charles Howard rode through Coruscant, receiving accolades of acclaim from its imperial citizens.

“Arrogant prick.” Han whispered to Luke. Both were watching the spectacle from Luke’s training room. The room had a large window which could be sealed off with metallic sliders. The two had been told of the Empress’ brother’s arrival two hours before by the Duchess Dowager of Bavaria. In no uncertain terms, she’d made it clear to them that this was something that was not something to be missed.

“No wonder Qi’ra hated Earthlings.” Han said. By now, Luke had learned more of Han than in the time they’d spent together fighting the Empire. “She approached me before Vader captured me, you know.”

“I heard from my sister. Didn’t think you meant it.”

“I say a lot of things to make your sister jealous but I would never mix half-truths to do that. I still think about what she said.”

“Are you seriously considering running off into the sun set and reuniting with an old flame?”

“Shows how much you know me.” Han gave a cold laigh. "I never considered myself a romantic yet I still ended up choosing Leia after I knew the truth about her parentage, knowing full well the risks. I am not about to turn my back on her now after everything we’ve been through together.”

“Good to know.” Luke said quietly, looking with disgust at all the pageantry that his stepmother’s brother received. “She has two other brothers we have yet to meet.”

“I am sure we will soon. Certainly, I will.”

Luke did not envy him. As Leia’s love interest, the Empress took a special interest in Han. It fell upon him to keep Leia happy and distracted from any rebel activities. Not that she needs to. She’s made her position to the both of us clear.

Luke thought Han a misguided fool, thinking that this was another gamble he could free himself off like the shady characters he had dealt with in the past but this was a whole new ball game. Vader was an entirely different animal who anticipated every move his enemies made, including the ones that lingered in their heads before they were taken into consideration.

 _Yet, he cannot be blamed_. Han did the one thing that Luke had done when he had flown to Cloud City to rescue Han and Leia. He’d given into his emotions, believing whole heartedly that he was different from all the lovesick fools and mindless drones who’d fallen prey to the love bug, when in reality he was no different than them.

 _I hope you come to escape my sister’s wrath, Han. If she gives herself fully to the dark side then there is no telling what she will become._ Luke’s guess was nothing good. _Our father fell to the dark side because of the great love he bore our mother and killed the emperor at the instigation of Katherine Howard. If it weren’t for his passions and attachments, Sidious would have never taken advantage of him so easily nor would the dark side’s tendrils had ingrained so deeply into his soul that they became a part of him.  
_ Leia, sister, by all that is holy, don't give in or else you will end up alone with nothing and no one.

While Luke's mind was on the worst case scenario, Han’s was on the Imperial court _. Win_ , was what he told himself since Leia had told him of her plans. _Watch, observe, plan then act so you can win against all these fuckers._ Life was a gamble and the only way to win was to play for keeps and Han was not one to back away from a good gamble.

Grand Moff Howard was welcomed with open arms by his sister. He lamented that the Emperor was too busy to greet him. He then went on to greet his fellow Earthling nobles, Ladies Mary and Elizabeth Tudor, then acknowledged his beautiful niece, Princess Persephone, and her half-siblings, Luke and Leia, and the former rebel and smuggler, Captain Han Solo.

Han mustered his best smile, having little to say to the arrogant prick. The older man had to be at least forty something years old. He was not that much older than his sister, although the

Charles had little to say to the former smuggler as well. His mind was made up about him. At dinner, he voiced his objections to his sister, keeping that man alive for his disobedient stepdaughter’s amusement.  
“You know better than to give me orders this late at night when my husband is absent and in his stead, he’s left me with his death troopers.” She gestured to the black armored guards besides them.

“I know the risks, Katheryn. But think about your voice and how it reaches the farthest corners of the galaxy, including the unknown regions. One word,” he said, snapping his fingers, “and the problem’s gone. Our brother George has recently become a widower.”

“Oh?”

“I am not suggesting anything but should the occasion called for it, you have someone to keep little miss self-importance in check.”

Katheryn bristled a little. “And you think the Emperor has not considered it? My husband had explored all possible options and at the moment, the best option to keep the Princess shackled is letting Han Solo live. If he outruns his usefulness however, who knows? The right avenue might lead our darling obedient brother to her.”

Charles was pleased to hear that. Their talk changed to more pleasant and mundane topics. Nothing that had to with war, politics, or pesky family members. Charles congratulated Katheryn on having raised such a beautiful and accomplished daughter. “Persephone knows more languages than I have fingers and she excels at all her studies. What’s your secret?”

“It’s the Force. What else and oh let’s not forget, good old Providence that never fails to bless us Howards.”

Charles chuckled. God Bless his sister. She never changes and never will. And for that, the Howards continued to thrive while other families were nothing but a memory. “It’s not my place to say-“

“Then don’t say it.”

He continued, unfazed by her playful admonishment. “-but it must be said. Prince Isolder has offered a substantial amount for your daughter’s hand in marriage. I dined with his mother last week. She says there is much to e done on Dathomir, to cleanse it from those diabolical witches. She promises to do her best to purify the planet.”

“And no doubt, she will want further encouragement through my daughter’s union with her son.”

“It is a good deal, Kitty. The Prince is not an honorable man but his mother is not long for this world. After she’s gone, who do you think will be the new Governess and Princess of the blood ruling over that planet?”

“I do not want my daughter to be a tool. If there is no other way to encourage her, find someone more suitable to replace her.” Kitty said firmly.

“It is not that easy. She grew up there. She knows their magic and although not blessed in the Force like your husband, she has gained the support of the witches’ rivals who will turn their back on the Empire as soon as their Queen Bee is displeased by your rejection.”

“Everyone in the empire is expendable. Vader will find someone new.”

“That is not the point, sister. Sure, he can blow it up to smithereens but Vader is not the kind who loves to take entire civilizations off the map. He’d rather negotiate first and if the worst comes to pass, he tries to minimize harm to avoid a major headache.”

“Don’t I know it?”

“If your enemies are down, there is wisdom and lending them a helping hand rather than kicking them below the gut. That’s how you get entire systems slipping from your fingers.”

“I don’t need a history lesson, Charles. I, better than anyone know what kind of mistakes the old Emperor made. My husband is not him. Yet, some people can’t be bargained with and they must be dealt before they become a bigger problem.”

“God be willing that is the last recourse.” Charles said, hoping his sister would come to her senses and think this through. For all of her power and influence, his sister still had a narrow grasp of politics. She didn’t see the bigger picture, or maybe she did not want to see it. Maybe she thought that having someone as powerful as Vader by her side, with three heirs of his own, was enough to grant her the permanent security that few other royal consorts enjoyed.  
After everything his sister had experienced as Vader’s wife, when Sidious was still alive, she should have learned to be more cautious. No, she is a Howard and for better and for worse, Howards are men and women of action. _Our overconfidence is what gets us through the worst, although some would argue it is also our greatest weakness_.

“Promise me you will consider it at least.”

Kitty nodded, just for the sake of not having to hear Charles address the matter any longer.

* * *

Alan Drake gave Ahsoka all the credits she needed to survive on her own until they reestablished contact with the remaining rebels. Until she settled in her new place, he and Sandra allowed her to stay in their place, located in the middling sector of the city planet. "He is a charmer." Ahsoka told Sandra. In her Padawan days, besides Barris Offee, Sandra Weyland had been a good friend of hers. Like Barris, she preferred studying ancient Jedi texts over fighting.

"You have not yet met his brother. He makes Alan look like a priest on Sunday." Both women laughed at that. "My brother always said that God works in mysterious ways. Every time I remember him, I remember Master Yoda. He always lamented you leaving the Order. So did I."

"I had no choice. The Jedi had turned their backs on me and in turn, on their principles as well. We were sworn to peace and yet we spent half our lives training for war. All I can remember from my youth is endless fighting and people around me, people I came to care about deeply, dying."

"There are always risks in war, Ahsoka. Peace is not eternal. Despite what the Jedi taught, we are neither absolutely dark or light. Yet, if it weren't for the Code, the galaxy and the old republic would not have endured this long. No system is perfect, but out of all the systems that have come and went, the Jedi Order is the only one that teaches us how to channel our Force abilities for good." Sandra said. "Without control, without restraint, we back to our basic instincts."

"Your husband is truly lucky to have you. I am not a mind reader." Ahsoka said when Sandra cocked her head at her, about to ask her how did she know. Ahsoka pointed to the ring on her middle finger. Sandra snorted. "Of course. Clumsy me. My brother used to tease me a lot when we were young for being so forgetful. When the Jedi came, my father was so proud. After a while, so was my brother. A Jedi and a holy man in the family -he said. What more can I ask for? I miss him and Charles a lot."

"Our loved ones never truly go. We owe it to them to keep fighting."

"Do you think we can win?"

"We will. I'm certain of it." Ahsoka said and Sandra saw no doubt in her eyes. 

"Thank you for seeking me out, Ahsoka. I missed our talks." 

"So did I." Ahsoka said, gently squeezing her friend's hand. _Come what may, we will carry on the fight. Even if it us just a few, we will endure. We owe it to our friends_.


	6. Cursed Legacies

**25TH GALACTIC YEAR  
EARTH YEAR 1571  
  
London, England **

There was once upon a time when a man could dream of shocking troopers and ending the evil that Emperor Palpatine had spread to all corners of the galaxy. But that time was long gone. A man could no longer wish for anything except becoming a better version of himself. Even if that version was not what his ideal self. Anything beat what he was yesterday.

The new District Attorney of Earth, a position created by the Emperor’s kitten –as she was kindly referred to in outside circles- and her brothers, wanted someone worthy to succeed him. To hell with the elections. This was Earth. People here were used to another form of government.

The door to his office opened. In came a young man. And by young, the DA meant no older than thirty-five. His name was Hamilton Burger, a man born on the wrong side of the blanket. Many of his former classmates openly guessed who his father was. Rumor had it that it was John More, the only son of the Catholic martyr, Sir Thomas More. Having him seated in front of him, the DA could see a close resemblance, except for his light brown hair.

“Mr. Burger, you have been assigned to work the Wittelsbach case.”

“Has the Duchess agreed? She will be mad if she finds out I am trying her in-laws.” Hamilton Burger said. Even though the Duchess Dowager hated her husband’s family with a passion, she still respected them. It was vital for their reputations to be intact for her children’s sake. “This doesn’t make any sense. Is the Empress doing this behind her back?”

“The Empress doesn’t give her consent unless she has the Emperor’s first. And whatever they do, you can bet the Duchess Dowager knew about it beforehand.”

“Then this can only mean one of two things. Either the Duchess is a willing participant and she is willing to sacrifice her sons’ inheritance to get a bigger piece of the pie to rule for herself,” Something which didn’t sit well with him. The Duchess Dowager was ambitious but was her hatred for her in-laws so big that she was willing to supersede her love for her sons? Hamilton hoped not. Such women were harridans who deserved to be burned like heretics. “or she angered the Emperor’s kitten.”

“Watch your tongue, Burger. I called you here because you are a man I highly trust. I have seen your work and you’ve left me and several others in this office impressed. But never think that you can speak so freely like that, not even to me.”

“Fine, then what is the mandate? Prosecute relentlessly like the with the Shun case? The Prince cried like a ninny until we got him down on his knees pleading for a deal to spare him the humiliation of walking barefoot with only a nightshift on through the streets of his cousin’s domains.”

The DA gave him a cold smile. “Your memory serves you well. But to clear up your earlier doubts, the Duchess Dowager’s sons have children of their own so she can care less what happens to her in-laws.”

“But convicting them damages their reputation as well.”

“Not if it involves her sons and with no one left to raise them, the responsibility falls on her shoulders which means she goes back to administrating those lands.”

Hamilton Burger felt disgusted but as the DA had warned him, he could not voice his thoughts since there were spies everywhere and who knew if the Empire didn’t have the DA’s office bugged.

“You will take a shuttle and meet with the defense on the morrow.” The DA gave him his new case folder. Before Hamilton was out of the door, he called him out. Hamilton Burger turned his face around. “Keep this under wraps, at least until the trial starts. The new inquisitors will take care of the defense, so this doesn’t leak out to the holo press.”

 _Much good it will do_ , Hamilton Burger thought. The press was state controlled. _Just like everything else in this damn galaxy._

* * *

**CORUSCANT**

Kitty let her daughter spar with Luke. She was getting good but not as good as her stepson. Before their last session, she left. She could see her daughter’s impatience. There were some things that she was dying to tell Luke, and she was not about to interfere in their personal space. Before she left, she turned off the hearing devices and ordered all the droids out of the training room, including Luke’s astromech droid R2-D2 and the golden protocol droid C-3PO.

“Your mother told me that you were getting much better. It is amazing thinking back to those days.” Luke said with a grim smile.

“You do not have to be so sarcastic with me, Luke.”

“I am not being sarcastic, I just can’t keep up with this clown show. Leia thinks that she can fool your parents but all she is doing, is fooling herself.”

Luke and Persephone sat down next to one another. “Leia is a politician. Politicians always look for a way to work within the system to make things better. Your mother was such a politician. If she were in her shoes, she would have done the same.”

“Our mother died because she could not live with herself knowing what monster her husband had become. And yet, she still believed he could be redeemed.” Luke scoffed. “Maybe this is the fate of the galaxy, to be endlessly tormented by Skywalkers.”

“You judge our father too harshly. He is not perfect but he is a far better ruler than Palpatine.”

“That is not what this is about, Persephone. The galaxy deserves to be free."

"What if the galaxy doesn't want to be free? There are many who prefer to be safe rather than free. Free means being free to do whatever you want, whenever you please. I have studied the history of my mother's planet and before Christianity took over Rome, Rome used to be pagan. The pagans used to have a negative connotation of freedom. Liberty, freedom, whatever you want to call it, meant running wild, devolving to our natural states."

"That is Sith talk. The Sith are the ones who talk about passions and breaking free of every control. The Jedi let others practice choice because they knew that we have it within ourselves to restrain ourselves and transform our darkest desires into something that could benefit society."

"That is a beautiful dream but it is a dream nonetheless." She sighed. "My mother was among those who believed that you could live a fairy tale out here in space until she found that human nature is the same nature that every being exhibits. The Jedi have a good code but at the end of the day it is not enough for a few to live by that code."

"It is not." Luke agreed and added, "Which is why Ben and Yoda intended me to change it. The Jedi did not respond well to change. Sidious knew this and took advantage of the situation to turn an entire galaxy against them. If he hadn't, the Jedi would have seen the error of their ways."

"Would they? You're not the only one who's been affected by this war, big brother. I don't believe much in mother's God, but I pray nonetheless because it brings me peace. One of the things I have prayed most for, is that you get to play a part in the empire. You do not have to like it, but maybe with your influence, things can get better."

"It's a tyranny."

"Countless other systems are ruled by Kings and Queens and the Jedi let them because they are one system. This is one galaxy, what is one system compared to one planet, right?"

"That is an unfair assumption of what I said."

"It is what you meant. The old system left many people destitute and hungry for justice. Call it tyranny, but for those who have had nothing this is far better."

**~o~**

His sister's words left him thinking. She had a point but no security was worth the price of blood. Luke closed his eyes, willing all the lights in his bedroom to go off, and went back to meditate.

* * *

There were many who would have liked to see the empire destroyed while others could care less. Whatever system replaced it, would be just as corrupt. When Alan told his younger brother that they could have their final grace, overthrowing the empire once and for all, Paul thought Alan had lost it.

"There is no better time than now. If the prophecy is true, the chosen one can still bring balance."

"Fuck balance." Paul Drake told his older brother. "The Emperor thinks Sandra is dead. Under a new alias, we were finally free to live our lives in peace. Think of what you are bringing down on our house."

"Paul, you are starting to talk like our father."

"At least one of us does. Alan, don't do this. It is suicide!" But his brother didn't heed his advice. He was dead set on joining his new wife and that Togruta woman on their foolish crusade. "All they've got is pipe dreams that will lead us nowhere."

"Perry has promised he will help us."

Paul shook his head. "No, he has not. He will never dig that hard. He knows better." Perry was ambitious and what was more, he had class. He would never sink so low as to abandon his commitment to the greater good and for him the greater good was helping those who couldn't be helped. He would not be able to help anyone if he became a suspect. 

"He has, Paul. He wants justice as much as we do."

"Perry has landed himself in hot water but never like this. If he can prove his clients' innocence he will, through the law and with my help. I refuse to believe that he is so dumb to join any of you."

"Why are you so angry, Paul? It's better that we die fighting than stay quiet like docile pets. I am not about to live the rest of my life like a caged animal."

Paul shut his mouth. Better he not say what he wanted to say. His brother was not known for his temper, but Paul knew how to push his buttons. The metallic doors slid opened. The Drake brothers turned around to see Ahsoka Tano with Sandra Weyland and a few other members of the rebel alliance. Paul did not bother to hear their plan. He had heard enoug from his brother and if it was true that they had dragged Perry into this, he didn't want to hang around them any longer.


	7. The paths we choose to walk

_"Every breath you take is a step towards death."_ **  
~Ali, Nah al-Balagha**

    

**26TH IMPERIAL GALACTIC YEAR  
1572 EARTH YEAR**

**CORUSCANT**

Leia talked to Luke about her promise to their father to travel with him on his galactic progress through the core world, primarily the most important cities of Corcuscant.

“You mean your agreement. Do not pretend that I am not aware of your open talks with his wife.”

“Stepmother, Luke. If we want to remain alive, we must acknowledge her for what she is.”

“You can do that but I can’t. I am a Jedi, like he was before he transformed into that thing.” Luke said.

Leia sighed. “Luke, you and I both know the full story. Deep down you want to believe that the man he was is still there but the cold truth is that Anakin Skywalker is not a separate entity from Darth Vader. They are both one and the same.”

“I can’t bring myself to lie to myself and think that the only way to defeat evil is with the lesser of two evils hoping that they will cancel each other out.”

“Two negatives do exactly that, Luke.” Leia pointed out. “You do not have to like it. You just have to agree with me. Otherwise, our friends would have died for nothing.”

Luke knew she was right but that didn’t make it any better.

“Have you ever thought of what would have happened if Obi Wan defeated our father on Mustafar or if he never met Kitty?”

“If, if. The world is filled with what-ifs. We have only ourselves. You, me, and Han. As long as we remain, the hopes and dreams of the Jedi and the Old Republic live with us.” Leia declared, taking Luke’s hands in hers.

“Do you think she loves him? And I don’t mean in love with the man he is now, but actually loves him in spite of what he’s done?”

“I do.” Leia said. She had not hesitated to answer. “And I don’t need the Force to see it. It is as clear as day and if the rumors are true that she met him when he was married to our mother, then it makes even more sense that she’d accept him, even with all his flaws.”

She then added, “At first I thought it was blind faith and wishful thinking. Our mother fell in love with a dream and so did our father but the more I have gotten to know them, I have come to realize that they do love each other.”

“Even despite everything.”

“Even despite everything.” She repeated. “It is difficult for us to accept it but perhaps for some people, it is easier to fall in love when the whole world is against you.” Leia said and as she said this, Luke came to understand her meaning.

“Both lost their parents at a young age. One orphaned of a mother and another one who never knew his father. Promising but failures nonetheless in their holier-than-thou elders’ eyes.” Luke said.

Leia nodded.

Luke coldly smiled. “It’s sad. Father fell in love with mother for all the right reasons and it ended in tragedy and they lusted after one another because they each represented something forbidden and appealing to each other, and they got to live happily ever after.”

Leia was taken aback by Luke’s biting remarks. The venom in his voice and his cold smile made him look like Vader in his younger years when he had been the republic and the Jedi’s prime hero. It gave her chills.

Luke’s hands still in hers, she gave a gentle squeeze and calmly said, “Always in motion the future is.”

“That’s not fair. Master Yoda would not compromise, neither would Obi Wan.”

“They were both in the Jedi Council for a reason. No Jedi were more politically wise than those on the Council. Whatever it is the Force wants of us, the Force shall will it. I know it because I see the light in your eyes. Don’t lose hope.”

It was easy for her to say. She knew how to navigate these murky waters. She was the politician. Not him. He was raised as a farm boy. Against his will, he was thrust into a galactic conflict and forced to embrace a destiny he wasn’t sure he could handle anymore.

_But it must be this way because we are Skywalkers after all. And Skywalkers are condemned into being the Force’s tools._

“Hope is the only thing I have lived on. Since I have use of memory, I have never wanted anything else than to have adventure, fly off into distant worlds and help people. When you told me that we had no choice, I was angry. For nearly two years I blamed you for our predicament. Part of me still does, yet I know that you are right. But that does not make it any easier.” He gave another cold smile which mirrored his tone. “I shall always cling to the light side, but I can’t deny that I am afraid. I used to think that I was prepared to confront Vader but now I know better. I fear the pull of the dark side but that fear is not for me.” He looked directly at her.

Leia released his hands.

“There is nothing to worry about. I have ensured our survival for this long.”

“Survival, not salvation. Vader has you right where he wants you. He feels the darkness within you, surely you do as well. If you won’t listen to me, at least listen to Han. He’s not Force sensitive. It’s the destiny of every Jedi to face their fears, and the destiny of every Sith to break free of everything that holds them back.”

“You can’t be serious. We just discussed those two. If they can live together then so can Han and I." Leia was certain their bond could withstand the Sith.

“That iswis Revan thought. What our parents thought. What so many others thought as well,” Luke’s tone was brisk. “Think this through Leia. Be the politician, I will follow and swallow my words but don’t make me promise to remain true to the light because I would rather I fall than let you fall.”

She could see the hidden intent in Luke’s eyes. Vader had agreed to let her train alongside him and Persephone for over a year. No sooner than she started her training, she discovered her true potential. So did Luke. The Force had made them equally strong and gifted like their father, with their Force abilities far superior than those of her half-sister. And yet, Luke had always made sure that he outshone her. It was natural. Luke was the more experienced Jedi and Force-user so even for the trained eye, it was easy to assume he was the more powerful.

“I should have known. All those public demonstrations, the tournaments the Empress held at the imperial court, it was all so he’d notice you over your sisters. You are still the hero, Luke but I am no Jedi. I am not meant to be the one who fights the darkness. You said so yourself. I am a politician. My job is to act as the mediator, yours is to be the one who fulfills the ancient prophecy of bringing balance to the Force.”

“Obi Wan and Master Yoda believedabelieved well but the more I have thought about it, I have come to the conclusion that it doesn’t matter which one of us brings back to the Force.”

“How can you be sure I will not be the one to fall?”

“You won’t. I am a warrior. You have a warrior's spirit, a politician's mind and an idealist's heart. You will be the bridge between light and dark. But in order for that to start taking place, you must stay away from our father’s inner circle.”

“And let you take my place, just like that?”

“What is the matter with that? Father is constantly complaining that I am not involved enough with the senior members of the court. Once he sees me slowly embracing imperial life, he will concentrate on me entirely.”

It was a good plan but one not worth risking Luke for.

Luke sensed Leia’s uncertainty. He took another step forward and grabbed her hands. “It is okay, Leia. You were always the leader the rebellion needed anyway. If anyone should restore balance to the Force and deliver the galaxy from this dictatorship, it’s you.”

“You think too highly of me, Luke. Why not just go along with my plan? Trust me. We can come out of this triumphant, all three of us.” She promised but Luke knew better. If Leia wasn't ready to take the first step, he'd force her to take it.

 _We all have to make sacrifices. I choose to make the biggest one for the good of the galaxy_.

**~o~**

That night, in the lowest sectors of Coruscant, a wedding was being celebrated between Sandra Weyland and Alan Drake. The person officiating the wedding was none other than someone she used to dread with all her being.

John Knox, the infamous preacher whose incendiary proclamation made him a major target of the Emperor. Namely, the Empress and her family. His thunderous pamphlet entitled **_“Against the Monstrous Regime of Women”_** railed against the _“daughters of Eve”_ whom he deemed unworthy of the human condition and the Lord’s salvation since he believed they had sold their souls to the devil when they allied themselves with Vader –whom he called the Antichrist.

Sandra had a hard time accepting him into her squadron when there was still a rebellion. Now that most of their friends were gone, they had put aside their differences to find common ground. Although he still rejected the concept of the ‘Force’, he was more tolerant of Force users. Instead of seeing them as heretics, he now saw them as misguided souls whose abilities were gifts from God that should be used against the forces of evil. Both of them agreed that the forces of evil were the Sith and everyone else within the Empire.  
As time went on, the two relied on their respective faiths to get them by. So when she asked him to marry her and Alan, he readily agreed.

The only one absent was Paul, Alan’s brother and of course, their mutual friend, Perry Mason. “Could you expect any less from my little brother?” He asked with a smile after the mass was over. The ritual was conducted in Alan and Sandra’s home. Little was needed to perform the marriage ritual. An old chalice, an old table with a white cloth on top that took the place of the altar, with her old Jedi garbs instead of a traditional gown, the kind that women of her status used to wear on Earth.  
Alan for his part had a simple suit.

“I wish he was here though but what are you going to do? He is as stubborn as our father and that is poetic justice in of itself given how much he hated the old man.” Alan said.

“Do not be so hard on him. Being pragmatic is not a bad thing. And I much rather he is than your other friend.”

“Perry is an old dinosaur. He won’t back down from a case unless someone pointed a blaster to his head.” Alan chuckled. “Although I think that even then, he’d talk himself out of that mess.”

“You and your brother know how to pick them.”

“No worse than you, my fair Jedi.” After he gave her a quick kiss, he went to thank Knox for officiating the ceremony. Seeing how the two were engaged in talk, Sandra went to Ahsoka. “You said that the Syndicate would be on our side. It’s been six months and so far none of them have declared for one side or the other.”

“Give them time. They have less love for the Empire than we do. Sabine promised me that she’d get some of the Mandalorians on our side.”

“It is a cluster fuck, Ahsoka. None of them want to fight a losing cause and I can’t blame them. We need people far crazier than them.” Sandra said.

“I doubt you will find people crazier than the Mandos.” Ahsoka said.

When Alan returned, Ahsoka congratulated the two of them then left, but not before promising them that the Force was with them, and it would continue to provide as it always had.

It was a promise that Sandra knew Ahsoka would do the impossible to fulfill. They were after all few of what remained of a once glorious force of chivalric warriors, freedom fighters and guardians of justice. No one would remember them when they were gone. The histories would remember the names of those who won them major victories. People like them would be another footnote in history –if they were lucky. More than likely, they’d be erased from the historical records.  
They were not bothered by it. They were fighting for a greater good. In the end, that was all that mattered.

* * *

Persephone overheard her siblings’ conversation. People underestimated her. So they do all pretty faces. She admired her older sister. When she learned that her father’s dreaded enemy was her sister, she was beyond herself with excitement. She had withheld her tongue from her father, and guarded her feelings well, especially when Sidious was alive, that the latter and his sniveling cronies were no better than the useless bureaucrats of the old republic.

They stood opposed to change as much as the old republic but unlike its decaying predecessor, they were good at masquerading their overconfidence for blind loyalty.

A serious miscalculation on their part. Princess Leia was a rising star in the imperial senate. Not only was she a beloved politician –something very rare among her kind- she was also a skilled tactician and orator.

She hid in the shadows, cloaking her Force presence from either one of her half-siblings. Although she doubted that in their current state they would have noticed her presence, it was better to be safe than sorry.

Persephone waited until they were out of reach so she could go back to her chambers. There she found R2. She was not a skilled pilot like Luke but she had a good grasp of people –like her half-sister and her mother. But like them, people hardly took notice. She was a strawberry blond, fair faced beauty whose Force abilities were minor compared with her siblings. If it wasn’t for her acrobatic skills, her weapons training and intellectual curiosity, she would be a disappointment.

Her father did not say how much he yearned someone worthy of him to take his place after he was gone until Luke and Leia came into the picture. Now that Luke had told Leia that he was willing to be the lamb to the slaughter to avoid her the dark fate of becoming their father’s heiress.

It was truly sad. Their father was not cruel like their dead rebellion thought. He had outlawed slavery, ruled with a less of an iron fist than other Siths before him. What was more, not only did his officials feared him, they also RESPECTED him. Something that hadn’t been achieved by a Sith since the first Sith Emperor eons ago.

Oh! If only her siblings were not blinded by their stupid idealism and saw firsthand the miracles her father’s empire had brought to the galaxy.

She became distracted by the various beeps from the astromech droid. “Got lost again, little buddy?”

R2-D2 shook his dome head, telling her that it was right where it wanted to be.

“You’d be far more comfortable with Luke or Leia.”

The blue, white and silver astromech droid once again shook its dome head. “You are one strange little guy.” At this, the R2 unite sounded off in annoyance.

Persephone went for her datapad and new device she had hooked on it of her own invention. She told the astromech droid to hook up with her device. R2 did and at once, the astromech got to choose its own voice, putting to words its feelings.

Persephone was surprised by **_her_** choice.

 **“Anakin always referred to me as his friend but he stopped seeing me as such after he became a Sith. He didn’t see me as anything more than another droid.”** R2 said.

“Why would you not tell C-3PO?”

 **“Is it not obvious? If I did, I would have never heard the end of it. People trust me with their secrets because they know I am discreet. What you expect from a good servant? Discretion. I was made to serve. It is my sole purpose.”** R2 informed her.

“Who you choose to serve.” Persephone pointed out. R2 did not deny this. “I read your serial number and I could not find any record of you until I dug deeper into the old Jedi forbidden files. Correct me if I am wrong but before you officially came online on the Naboo Nubian cruiser you belonged to another royal."

**"I am surprised it took you this long to figure it out. I was hoping that Luke would be the first one to know and if not him, you when I came into Anakin's possession again."**

"I do not understand why you kept all these secrets. C-3PO is one thing but after he had his memories restored by my father, you could've told him but you kept quiet."

**"I was Senator Amidala's gift to your father because she believed that I would be of good use to him but Anakin never saw me as a tool. We were friends and he treated me no differently than he treated his loved ones. I prefer to hold on to those moments rather than spoil our friendship by telling him the truth."**

"Does C-3PO know of your preferred personality?"

 **"He's known since he met me. After his memory was wiped, he knew how I saw myself as a human woman rather than a droid. It is why we teased each other mercilessly whenever I brought up the subject of how much I yearned for the human condition."** R2 revealed. 

"But there is no way for you to be human unless you were downloaded in a more humanoid form like C-3PO but I don't think you'd want to be a protocol droid."

**"Droids don't have the sensors that humans and other organics have but most of us are programmed to learn. In my many years of existence, I have come to understand that there isn't a big difference between organics and artificial intelligence. We are both ruled by programming. Yours is organic while ours is not. Exchange neurons for chips and processing motivators, circuits for blood, and you will see we are two sides of the same coin."**

Persephone had to admit, R2's argument was disarming. As the two continued to talk, Persephone started seeing the droid less a machine and more in the same vein as her father and her sibilings saw her. God almighty, she thought. I am starting to think of it as her.

"Suppose for a minute you could have your wish granted, would you forsake eternity to be human?"

 **"Eternity can be achieved in various forms, Princess. Some achieve it through their writings, others through their actions. A thing is not precious because of how long it lasts but because of what it does and what it means to others."** R2's words disarmed Persephone and solidified her attachment towards the droid. She unplugged the device from R2's port, bid her good night then went to sleep.

* * *

**HAPES**

Paul coughed hard. "Come on, Paul, the more you prolong your drinking, the more I suffer from another one of your boring lectures."

"This is not another harsh reminder telling you why I am this close to losing it." Paul said coughing again. Perry mistook his cough because of all the heavy drinking. If his friend had been more observant, he'd see that drop of blood had fallen on the metallic table which he instantly cleaned when Perry turned around to see the holo screen which showed the imperial family progressing through the upper streets of Coruscant notorious sectors.

 _Damn_. He was hoping for another five years but clear the sands of time were beginning to turn against him. If I die, who'll be left to look after my brother, to keep him out of trouble and what is more, to remind Perry of the many dangers he faces if he becomes involved in my brother and his wife's foolish crusade?

He dared not think of this at the moment. He was going to enjoy what little time he had left. Treasure these moments as well as get lost in nostalgia, reliving the old memories of when he was a teenage boy, spending his past time learning from outlaws and other unsavory men and women.

His brother had rescued him after he had nearly lost all of the money he had swingled from Lando Calrissian in a game of Sabbac. He never forgave his brother for that. His rescue gave Alan the perfect excuse to forcefully recruit Paul into the rebel alliance where he used his acquired skills from the galaxy's underbelly to aid the youngest recruits.

I have gone from baby sitter to dying man. It was quite ironic. If his brother was successful, Paul would die before any of these brave fools. Perry remarked how the Emperor was less afraid to show himself in public. "It's either a sign of arrogance or he wants to die." Paul said, wiping the last bit of blood before Perry turned to face him again.

"There is no way for me to say this without me telling you I told you so, but I might as well say it before you contradict me, he is waiting for the right moment when they take aim."

"With his family at risk? There is no way he'd do that without consulting with his wife." Paul said.

"Since when does a dark lord of the Sith care for what lesser voices have to say?" Perry said. "I told Sabine before she departed to recruit what remained of her warrior society-"

"The Mandalorians."

"Yeah, those. She, like the rest remain oblivious. They want to believe that Vader is like his master. He's clearly not and unless someone convinces them otherwise, it will be another blood bath."

"Forget about it, Perry. My brother would rather listen to that crazyy Evangelical and that ex-Jedi." Paul said. 

"Or his wife." Perry suggested. "Sandra Weyland learned from the best. Her father was a ruthless business man and her brother was renowned for his ambition among his fellow bishops. If anyone can get through to your brother and the rest of those numbskulls, it's her."

Perry gave him too much credit. Then again, that is who Perry was. He didn't readily trust everyone but he was good at making others believe that he did, including Paul who at this point should have known better than to follow Perry's advice.

Might as well though. Paul was living on borrowed time. He was not going to live past his twenty-third birthday, so he might as well take advantage of what little time he had left.

* * *

**NABOO**

Two weeks after the Imperial progress in the core worlds, Han received a message from his old flame, Qi'ra. While on Naboo, he got reunited with her. Han waited until everyone was asleep, including Leia to slip away.

There she was, with that wicked smile and sparkling eyes. "You never fail to disappoint, but you still aim too high."

"I learned that from you." Han said back.

"It is good to see you again." The two embraced. "How is life treating you with the imperial princess? Is Chewbacca still with you?"

"Old fuzzball wouldn't leave even when I told him the debt he owed me was paid."

"You undervalue yourself too much; Chewie could have left you a long time ago. Anyone with two good brain cells would have but he cares for you which is more than I can say for her."

"I never took you for the jealous type." Han said, amused with the idea of having Qi'ra competing for his affections with Leia. It wasn't a question of who would win, as to who would try the hardest. Not that he would see that. Qi'ra was too much of a free spirit to debase herself in such games, while Leia was too pride to admit her feelings for him so openly.

"Do not confuse me for a lovesick fool, I care for you but I am not about to let go of my good judgment for anyone." Including you -was the obvious statement. "I wanted to contact you since you were taken into imperial custody but with security being so tight, I waited until the Emperor felt secure enough that he didn't have any of his death troopers around day and night. It wasn't easy coming here but I figure it was no better time than now than to deliver this." She handed him a device. He activated and the holo image of Kamino facility popped out.

"The emperor is planning to revive the cloning program after the Emperor shut them down for good? Why and how? There is nothing left of Kamino but ruins."

"It's not Kamino. The facility is on Jakku. It is when the last rebel forces were wiped out. It has taken them one year and a half to gather this intel. Dozens of Mon Mothma's Bothans spies died to bring her this information."

"And how is it Mon Mothma gave it to you? She is far too uptight to trust a syndicate leader with this type of delicate intel."

"Mon Mothma did not need much convincing after her niece was captured by Grand Moff Howard and subsequently tortured to death."

Han winced at that, feeling bad for the woman. The two had never gotten along, but Han came to respect her. Mon Mothma was the consumate politician. Cautionary to a fault, the older woman was willing to hear everyone, including those she deemed reckless and openly disliked if it meant they'd help get the rebellion one step closer to vicotry. "First Bail then her husband and daughter, and now this. And let me guess, the Empress washes her hands off the whole thing and will feign ignorance or claim that she died as a result of rebel crossfire."

"You know them better than I do. At this point, nothing should surprise you." Qi'ra crossed her arms. "Emperor Palpatine had two special programs, one in an unknown location and another one in Jakku. Both of them involve cloning but it is for the creation of any clone army."

"The images say otherwise." A facility of that size could only mean for one thing. Han shuffled through the insides of the building and pointed to many empty bacta tanks. 

Qi'ra admitted that she thought the same thing at first but upon closer inspection, the bacta tanks were too big for infant clones. "The technology to grow an adult clone is faulty but there are records from the first Sith Empire that the Jedi tried to supress that speak of forbidden arts which to do it."

"That proves it then. Vader is going to grow an army of his own again to stamp what civil unrest remains."

"That is one possibility but after the memory of the clone wars still fresh on people's minds, it is highly unlikely. My guess is that it has to do with something else. Before my boss died at the hands of your Jedi friend's mentor, he spoke of old Sith, some of whom he said could transfer their souls from one body to another."

"Qi'ra, I have seen all kinds of things but even this... come on! It is ludicrous."

"Is it? The Jedi can retain their consciousness after death, why not the Sith? Dark side, light side, they're both part of the Force. There cannot be one without the other. If one side can do it, what is to say the other cannot? Maybe Vader is searching for that ancient knowledge to finish off the work of other Siths?"

Han handed the holo device back to Qi'ra. "It's not what you want to hear but you have little choice in this matter. Whatever Vader is after, it can desastabilize the galaxy."

"Many worlds will disagree with you. Everyone is so tired of fighting that they care less who runs things as long as everyone is safe and has food on their table."

"What good is all of that if it comes at a higher cost?" Qi'ra said with a knowing smile. No one better than her knew that even if you had all you could have everything you asked for, if the price was at the expense of your freedom, a golden cage still remained a cage. "The rebels are a dying breed. Many of them have nothing left to lose. It'll be all or nothing for them; in truth, Mon Mothma doesn't trust that Leia will succeed at whatever political game it is that she is playing and she trusts Luke even less at this point but you are a different story. If you can be her mole, she says she will be eternally grateful."

Han didn't believe in the rebellion but as time progressed, he saw himself as one of them. That had not changed still. Despie the Howards and the Empress' subtle threats and the Emperor's overt ones, he was still a rebel at heart. That is the one thing they will never take away from me. I grew up as a free spirit. I learned to hide, run and swindle at the age of four without a care for anyone or anything save for myself, my ship and Chewie. After he rescued her royal Highness, Leia had been added to that list. She was the one reason why he told Qi'ra he could not agree to Mon Mothma's request.

"Her loss then. Politicians think too highly of themselves. They do not know that not everyone can be bought with empty promises or be scared into submission. I hope for both your sakes that you made the right decision. Otherwise, it won't be Chewie you will be owing a life debt."

Han smirked at that. The two said their farewells. "Take care of yourself Han." She said one last time then turned on her heel and left. 

Han could have ran after her. Find the time to get Chewie afterwards but he was no fool. His fate had been sealed from the moment he decided to take Luke, that crazy old Jedi, and those two droids to the Death Star to rescue Leia. He could have walked away at any moment. Gods only knew there were many times, he could but there was always something. An excuse, a reason or something else that kept him from leaving.

 _This is the path I chose, and I have no one to blame but myself_. He chose this destiny. Not the Force, not the Gods, or the Empress' God. He did. _And now I must continue to walk it._


	8. Taking risks

_"Love flowers best in openness and freedom."~Edward Abbey_

**26TH IMPERIAL GALACTIC YEAR  
EARTH YEAR 1572**

**CHANDRILA TO EARTH**

King Robert was pleased to be welcomed into the imperial court at the Empress’ preferred residence in Chandrila. “Centuries ago, this palace was restricted to the Jedi and other valued members of the Core worlds. Now it is open to the public.” King Robert told the Empress. “If it weren’t for your efforts, this planet would be another jeweled from which there would be no warmth from its leaders to its subjects.”

“Robert, you are far kinder than your father. You do not begin to do your noble mother justice.”

“If only your housekeepers were of the same mind, my lady. When your ladyship desires, I will be ready to press my Jagellion cousin’s suit.” Kitty chuckled at that. Oh how she wished she could convince Lizzie to accept, but her cousin had rejected so many marriage offers. She wasn’t likely to accept anytime soon. “A man can dream, can he not?”

“Only if he doesn’t go beyond his limitations.” Kitty said. The warning wasn’t lost on Robert. When he was settled in the guest quarters, he and Kitty dined together. “It is unprecedented.” She declared, showing him the moving portrait behind her. It was a holographic image captured of the Emperor.

Robert agreed but found it unnerving. Kitty saw his nervousness in spite of his stoic disposition. “Many who have seen the Emperor smiled, wish they hadn’t. They either went mad or died trying to get the image from their heads. Seldom do people dine in this room and see my husband for who he really is.”

“I am sorry for those poor devils but I do not fault them for thinking so ill of your husband. He is after all the most powerful man in the galaxy, and the chosen one.”

“Don’t say those things when you are in front of him.” Kitty warned him for a second time. “Anakin never wanted that title. Despite what he says, deep down he is still the little boy from Tatooine dreaming of adventure and freeing the galaxy from evildoers.”

“We are all dreamers but eventually we have to wake up.” Robert said.

“Not Anakin. Some people you can torture them and abuse them all day long and they won’t shed a tear because they can take it, because they know that it is only a matter of time before the right time comes for justice to collect its debt. Vader will always be the enemy to those with limited vision. To the rest who possess better judgment, they see him for who he really is, a man of vision who brought law and order to a galaxy that was on the brink of chaos.”

“And you call me a wordsmith. You should be the one handling Vader’s speeches.” King Robert noted.

“Who’s to say I do not?”

The following morrow, the two had ridden across the vast forests surrounding her residence. They managed to hunt several creatures which the King of England had only seen in his dreams. When they returned to the palace, Robert asked her what had been on his mind since he had been invited to Chandrila. Kitty reassured him that he had nothing to worry about but Robert was not convinced.

“When my half-brother, God rest his soul, was promised to be spared, Vader signed a contract so he’d rest easy and we all know how quickly he altered that deal.”

“That was Palpatine’s doing.” Kitty said simply. She rose and went to sit next to the young King. “Your mother and I were good friends. I promised her on her deathbed that no harm would come to you and I keep my promises.”

“It is not either of you I distrust. I know that you mean me no harm,” Robert lied smoothly, choosing his words carefully, “but remnants of the rebel alliances and those loyal to Sidious could still resurface, forcing your husband’s hand and if my head would guarantee him a victory, he’d not blink an eye to his councilors’ suggestion to make me the lamb to the slaughter.”

“My dear Rob, Vader has only one voice of reason besides his conscience and that is me.”

Yet Robert’s worries remained. No sooner had he returned to Earth, he sent word to Cleves. Following the execution of all his German relations with the exception of the eldest offspring of the Duchess Dowager of Bavaria (who now controlled all the German provinces with the exception of the Lower Rhine region where his mother’s duchy of Cleves was located), Robert became the patriarch of the region’s remaining noble houses.  
His response arrived less than a week after. In the dead of night, Robert told his body double to slip under the covers of his bed. He was putting his life on the line. The Empire and the fledgling rebels had left him with no choice.

“Cousin, humility does not suit you.” Robert remarked to Peter, Mary Tudor’s eldest son. The two were in a tavern. Robert was wearing plain clothes while Peter looked no different than the tavern’s common clientele.

“I could say the same thing about you.” Mary Tudor’s eldest son said. His face was hardened by the years spent imprisoned in golden cages. His first royal prison had been Tordesillas in Spain, then he was moved to Bavaria, to his father’s palace which his mother had stripped of all its finery so he’d know that nothing of the splendor for which Philip of Bavaria was known for remained. And lastly, when newly knighted Sir Hamilton Burger had prosecuted his entire family, he had been moved to Cleves, where he was bullied into abdicating his throne to his six year old daughter. Since she was too young to control those territories, a regent was appointed. It was none other than his mother.

 _Blasted witch. If I had not been so cowardly, I would have spoken up to my father and convinced him to banish her like her grandfather, Ferdinand II of Aragon did with his daughter, her aunt, Juana I of Castile, so she would have never dug her nails in my inheritance._  
Peter Wittelsbach-Tudor was a man of twenty-five years old. Of the things he most hated his mother for was his appearance. Robert noted that despite his self-imposed regime of hard exercise, his physique was nothing like his father whose accomplishments were still much talked about on Earth. Moreover, the only thing Peter had left from his father were his green eyes. If it weren’t for those emerald orbs, he’d be the spitting image of Robert and Mary’s father, Henry VIII.

“How did you manage to bribe my captors to release me into your custody?”

“Hardly anything. Vader still has enemies in the unknown regions, where Sidious’ loyalist fleet went to. They’ll be dealt with in time, but until that fateful day comes, I will continue to play both sides like my father, your grandfather did with heretics and papists.”

“I wish I can praise your superior knowledge but even as I try, my sarcasm fails me. Clearly, I do not have my mother’s head for deception and swindling.”

“Your sarcasm is far better than hers, and you should be grateful you do not have a head for wicked designs.” Rob said, countering his self-assessment. “Although, there is no harm in befriending someone who’s equally devious.” A knowing smile appeared on both their faces. “The enemy of my enemy is my friend. And if the clandestine reports are to be believed, we all need to swallow our pride and find allies wherever we can.”

“If I help you, what’s to say that my mother won’t kill my daughter?”

“She will not.” Robert said confidently.

“How do you know? You haven’t lived with her. I know every little evil thought that goes through her head before she puts into action.” Peter said. His only flaw was that he was too cautious. His brother was the bolder one but much good it had done him when his mother drove him crazy and got ahold of his son and daughter as well.

“My sisters are unhappy wretches who take pleasure in watching others suffer because in their eyes, they are far smarter and worthier than anyone else, and as long as they play the eternal victim card of ‘woe me, nature wronged me in making me a woman but God bestowed on me the spirit of a man’ yadda, yadda,” Robert waved his hand mockingly, “they will have everyone eating of their bony hands. But, devious as they are, they are still women and women at their core are sentimental creatures. One needs doesn’t have to be observant to see how much Mary loves her granddaughter. She could have chosen your niece and nephew as her heirs, but instead she chose her. She’s always loved Charlotte.”

Peter hated to admit it but Robert was right. Against all odds, his mother’s blackened heart had found free space for his daughter. Since the moment she was born, Mary Tudor had become attached to his sole heiress. His wife, may God rest her soul, had died in childbirth. It wasn’t childbirth fever. He wished it had been since it was easily cured thanks to imperial technology but this was something else. While he mourned his wife, his mother had taken over his daughter’s household.

“For fuck’s sake, that woman is going to squeeze my daughter’s inheritance until there is nothing left for her to bleed dry. It doesn’t matter how much she loves her, my mother loves power more. It is her one true love and she’s not going to let it go for anything or anyone in the world.”

“Do not be so sure, nephew.” Peter glared at him. The two were almost the same age, yet Robert had acquired the Tudor conniving and calculating mind. He knew how to push Peter’s button as his mother did. “Mary and Elizabeth will do what is needed to keep their power. If we want to beat them at their own game, we must be equally deceptive and employ better, but no less dirtier tricks.”

“You should have approached my brother before he went mad. He would have agreed to your plans, cousin.”

“Bold men are the first ones to go. I do not need a brave soul, I need someone who’s committed to fight. Your father fought a dozen Turks single-handedly using every dirty trick he knew. In the end, his ancestors who fought nobly and bravely were forgotten and he went to live on. He liberated his people from the Infidels and now you have the opportunity to do the same. Don’t be a hero, be wise.”

Peter did not need a lot of coaxing after that. With their alliance sealed by their mutual fear and hatred of the Empress and the Tudor sisters, Robert began relaying his plans to his other secret allies.

“You should be ashamed of yourself, Your Majesty. You’re approaching a sea of fire and what else will that get you if not burned? Your father thought he could break and bend the rules and when he realized there was so much he could do, it was too late. Is that how you want to go down in history? As another Henry VIII and Edward VI?” Qi’ra asked the rebels’ unlikely ally. “Escape from the emperor is impossible. You witnessed your brother’s execution. You should know that by now.”

“My brother was not patient. My father could have won if he only had a little bit more of it.”

“Like you?” Qi’ra asked, raising a skeptical eyebrow.

“I play to win and the only way to win against a powerful opponent is to play the long game.” King Robert explained.

Qi’ra shook her head. “The fight is already lost if you think you’re smarter than the Emperor. Many underestimated him, they’re all dead.”

“I am not naïve, Madame. I know that there are only two outcomes from this fight. I could either wait and die or survive. My grandfather and his mother did not sacrifice everything and everyone to see the greatest dynasty that ever ruled England destroyed. When I bend the knee to Sidious and then to Vader, I swore that nothing would stop me from inheriting this crown to my heirs.” Robert said. “If Brendol Hux returns with a strong force, large enough to match the Emperor’s, he is going to use me and every other Force user as an example. Nothing I say will be credible. It will be my word against his.”

“And since you care so much for your other Force brethren …” Qi’ra sighed. “Just make sure that until that day comes, if it comes, that you remain his wife’s best friend.”

“Katheryn Howard has no reason to doubt my loyalty. It is harder to tell with His Imperial Highness, but as long as I keep my head down and remain his good little puppet, he is going to ignore my Force sensitivity.” Robert said.

* * *

** HAPES **

Three months since his visit to the Empress’ residence at Chandrila, and two months since his secret reunion with his cousin and former crime boss, Qi’ra, Robert gave his doctor leave to visit his family who were currently residing in Hapes.

It didn’t take the King’s personal physician long to be contacted by Mon Mothma. The former Senator of Chandrila and remaining leader of the rebel alliance told him that the first phase in their plan would be a suicide mission. As such, they needed someone with little to lose.

“Where are you going to find such person?”

“There are always those willing to sacrifice everything for the cause.” Was Mon Mothma’s reply. The royal physician was skeptical that such a man existed and suspected that there was more to what Mon Mothma but he didn’t probe any further.

**~o~**

Such person did exist and it happened to be, much to Perry’s misfortune, his best friend Paul. “You are not going to be dumb enough to accept this mission?” When Paul didn’t respond, Perry got angry. “A week ago you were conspiring with your sister-in-law to convince your brother to get his head out of the sand. Why the sudden change of heart?”

 _If you only knew._ His condition had gotten worse. If the end was near, Paul was going to take as many imperials with him as he could. And if I can secure a victory for the rebels, it will mean that my brother and the rest will be one step closer to overthrowing the Empire.

“My brother has a wife. The imperials will sense their betrayal a mile away. I on the other hand, have always been out of the empire’s radar, so they won’t suspect anything.”

Perry’s light blue eyes penetrated Paul’s hazel ones. They bore deep into his soul, searching for the truth but he saw nothing in his friend’s eyes. Whatever it was he was hiding, he was hiding it well.

“Suppose that you pass the background checks and by some miraculous turn of events, the wheel of fortune smiles on you, what makes you think they will let you get close to the imperial princes?”

“It’s not the princes I will be after. Daddy’s little girl, and his eldest offspring will be well guarded. Captain Solo on the other hand won’t and that will be my hook.”

“Paul, you’re delusional. Solo Leia’s boy toy. As long as he lives, the Emperor has her in her grasp. There’s no way he is going to let anyone plant ideas in his head.”

“You forget you and I met a lot of unsavory characters in our teenage years.” Paul reminded him. Han Solo was one of them. A daring youth with an unquenchable taste for adventure, he was the sort of man that Paul and Perry had dealings with before they decided that lifestyle was not for them.

“You’re running a fool’s errand. Fine, Paul if that is the bed you want to lie in, I won’t dissuade you but I will be advising you so you take lesser painful roads.”

Paul was thankful for Perry’s help. He would end up regretting it in the end but if he survived this, long enough to grow a white beard, he’d understand why Paul did it.

* * *

** NABOO **

“Can you shut him off?” Leia turned off C-3PO but it was no use. Goldenrod went back online thanks to his astromech companion an hour later. Tired of his incessant rants, Han went out for a stroll. Leia followed him. “How is the kid?”

“Luke does not think he is worthy of being a Jedi anymore. He believes that only I can defeat Vader.”

“Luke is crazy.” Han said, smiling as the two of them turned at the sound of his Wookie first mate. “See, Chewie agrees. All that Force nonsense has gotten us nothing but trouble. No wonder they were so easily destroyed."

"The Jedi are our only hope. If we let the Emperor have his way, the forces of evil will be invincible."

"They already are. Everyone in the rebellion is dead. What more do we have to lose from striking him down? It'd be poetic justice." Han noted, a cold smile on his face. 

Leia confessed that there was nothing more she wanted than to strike him down, and wipe that playful smirk from his wife's face but she feared what it would do to her if she gave into her worse instincts.

"The Jedi and the Sith are two sides of the same coin." Han said. "If what Luke said is right, the Force is just it. Neither good or bad. You either have it or not. It doesn't determine who you are, it is just something you have and you can use it for either good or bad. Whatever Luke is planning, if his resolve is as strong as yours, nothing daddy dearest says will make him change."

Leia was grateful to have Han in her life Nerf herder isn't dense as he appears at first glance. Yet, her doubts remained. Han did his best to quiet her overactive mind. "Whatever schemes Vader and his kitten are plotting, the two aren't more strong willed than you." When the sun had set, Leia and Han returned to the lake house. Leia could sense what was going on in Han's head.

The two had witheld from sexual foreplay for over two years, since the two had been captured by imperial forces. But with every passing moment they were together, it was getting harder to resist. "We can't keept living in fear of Vader. If he sees us, I want him to know that he can't control."

"You always have an answer for everything but this is not something we can solve so easily."

"Why not? Every victory the rebellion has enjoyed has been because they believed they could. And if that isn't enough then we will die trying." Han said. He was a free spirit. He had played the prisoner for Leia's sake but he was sick and tired of it. If there was no other way out of it, he was going to die trying because as much as he hated to admit it, he was as much a rebel as Leia.

Leia told Han it was better that he forgot about it and not try again. His attempts were infuriating because they reminded her of what she could never have. Han promised her that things could not get worse. Leia wished that Han could be more serious. This wasn't just life and death. This was also a fight for the soul of the galaxy. But Han would not be persuaded. He wasn't Luke, he didn't have the Force. He was thankful for that because unlike Luke, nothing could control him.

"Except me. Otherwise, why would Vader keep you alive this long?"

"Vader keeps me alive for you. He could care less about me. As far as your Force is concerned, I am just another pawn in the big game between the forces of good and evil." Han said getting closer. With every step he took, Leia walked backwards until her back hit the wall.

And yet, when Han leaned forward to kiss her, Leia didn’t object. She didn’t steel herself, nor pushed him away. Her response was immediate.

Han took off her moral blindfold. If Vader was going to use him, he was going to make his stay count. Vader can use the Force to manipulate Luke, Leia and Persephone; he can’t use it against me.

“You scruffy looking nerf-herder. Always pushing your luck. You’re not that charming nor lucky.” She said as the two began to undress each other.

“Yeah, yeah I know but you can’t keep yourself away from me can you sweetheart?”

Oh how she hated his pig-headedness, and yet it was ruggedness and bravado which had appealed to her.

“You think too highly of yourself. One of these days, I am not going to be there to defend you.” _And neither will Chewie,_ but she dared not say more because before he could offer a smart ass retort, she kissed him.

Han couldn’t believe this was happening. As he stood watching her naked form, he wanted nothing more than to pinch himself to make sure that this was real.

At last, after years of restraining their impulses, the two had capitulated.

There was no turning back after tonight. They both knew it but the thought of living like birds trapped in cages, made them unhappy. Luke had warned her that it was love that drove her father to the dark side, and it was lust that kept him tethered to it. But in Leia’s case, it was the love she and Han had for one another which would help them defeat the Empire.


	9. The Unmovable Future

_"If prescience alone existed and did everything, Sire, it would annihilate itself. Nothing but prescience? Where could it be applied except ot its own degenerating movements?" ~_ Edric (Spice Navigator) in Dune Messiah by Frank Herbert

**26TH IMPERIAL GALACTIC YEAR  
EARTH YEAR 1572**

**NABOO, THEED CITY**

Vader remembered when he met Padme. She was the most beautiful thing he ever saw. He called her an angel. If he saw her again, he’d still call her an angel because that was exactly what she was. And yet after everything that had happened, the man who had once been Anakin Skywalker, now the dark lord of the Sith and Emperor of the galaxy, had come to the realization that he never loved her –anymore than she loved him.

The two were in love with idealized versions of themselves. Padme loved the idea of being in love, having someone else to save while he fancied himself a knight in shining armour, protecting his loved ones and defending those in need from the forces of evil. The more he trained with his son, the more he realized how much like Padme he was.

Leia was the one who was impetuous, desired adventure but always held a strong sense of morality which had identified him during his golden years as a Jedi in the Clone Wars.

There was no one who admired him more than the people he rescued, including his padawan. Ahsoka affectionately called him “Sky guy” while he in turn called her “Snips.” Despite training her well, she always held that she would not have made it so far if it wasn’t for him.

All those years wasted because of my belief in the greater good. “You may not make it as Obi Wan’s padawn but you will make it as mine.” He promised Ahsoka and for once, it looked as if destiny was smiling at him. But then she left him too.

The only one that didn’t leave was Katheryn. She was drawn to him from the first time they met. It wasn’t his looks or his titles she was drawn to. She saw in him something others rarely saw –a sadness that she too experienced.

But he was too in love with Padme to pay attention to a silly teenager who fancied herself in love with someone she barely knew. To his surprise, everything he mocked her for, turned out to be true.

Katheryn was loyal. Moreover, she was a realist. Her love of all things pretty, meant that she would never betray him. The love she had for her husband matched the respect he had for his office and the fear others had of him.

After he had embraced his new persona, he had reciprocated Katheryn’s attentions. The Emperor didn’t object. Padme Amidala Naberrie was a threat because of her morals and her inner circle of powerful friends. Katheryn Howard on the other hand was an earthling from an impoverished branch of social climbers who posed no threat to him.

 _How wrong he was._ Every man and woman they had run into, underestimated Vader and Katheryn. To them, they were nothing more than the Emperor’s dog and a harmless kitten.

A new presence broke his chain of thought, bringing him back to the present. Two people were standing outside his door. A buzz sounded. “Your Highness, the new addition to the Princess’ household is here.”

“The Empress is the one who takes care of these affairs when the Duchess Dowager and her sister are unavailable.” Vader told his personal Inquisitor, better known as the Ninth Sister.

“Her Highness is busy overseeing other matters and she gave the day off to both her cousin and Her Grace, Duchess Mary. She begs your pardon if it is too much of an inconvenience.”

“It is none at all, but do tell her that I do not expect a repeat of this again.” He said firmly.

Although he could not see her, the agreeableness from his Inquisitor made him picture her quick nod.

“Shall I send him in now?”

“Yes.” Might as well get this over with.

In came a young man who looked no older than twenty-two. His hazel eyes overshadowed his fair looks which even by non-human standards made him attractive.

“General Jer-Jerrod says you worked in his contingent for three years before you were dishonorable discharged after you failed to report on time for your training. Care to explain to me what that was all about?”

“I was sixteen, I had just lost my parents and my brother and I weren’t on speaking terms, so the Empire became the only means by which I could progress-“

“I did not ask you for your life story. I want to know why is that I should hire you above more qualified and obedient servants?” Vader asked Paul Drake.

Looking down at the young man’s file he pulled from his data-pad, Vader saw that the man never had a problem with authority until that point.

“Why did you disobey a direct order from your commander? Answer me truthfully or you will pay dearly for lying.”

The way he said it left no room in Paul’s head that he’d do exactly what he said if he didn’t convince him of his honesty.

“When the General asked us to fire on unarmed civilians, I refused. Then he sent me and the others who had refused to a special training camp where they constructed stormtrooper armors. It was a concentration camp and the General knew it but I did my duty. I served my time and afterwards, I was honorably discharged. Since then, I have spent my time conducting all kinds of business in the mid-rim and outer rim sectors.”

“Smuggling. Corporal Drake. Your brother was given a pardon by the imperial navy. Before you left, you requested that it was extended to his wife, Delia Mason. Since their marriage, you have refused to go back into the imperial academy for re-orientation. Why?”

“It is all in my file.”

“I don’t care that it is in your file. I want to hear it straight from the horse’s mouth.” Vader said firmly.

Paul told him the truth. It was futile to lie to a dark lord of the Sith, so he conveniently left out anything that would invite suspicion. _That way, when he looks into my mind, it will be because I let him and he will see no deception._

“You are a skilled pilot, but you do need to hon your reflexes. You did much better on sniping training which is why you were highly recommended by the General. As it happens, I need someone who can watch over my eldest daughter and Captain Solo. There are still enemies out there waiting for the right moment where they can strike, or worse hold both of them for ransom. You know how much my daughter means to me, all I ask besides your obvious duty is your discretion.”

“You have both of them.” Paul said. Vader sensed no deception. Without preamble he ordered his death troopers to take care of his new accommodations, and issue him a new blaster.

That was easy, Paul thought when he put on the new uniform. Paul had to wonder if it was intentional. If this was part of some sick game to get Paul to grow overconfident so when he least expected it, the Emperor could catch him red-handed. I just have to take a leap of faith. It was all a dying man could do.

* * *

Vader closed his eyes and envisioned the many possible futures. When he was younger every time he tried to see into the future, all he saw were distorted images. Although visions of the future were clearer, they were not less harder to interpret. 

Some of them were tricky. They represented impossible futures that stemmed from different decisions made during his teenage years before he met Padme. In others, they depended solely on his fight with Obi Wan. In those he saw himself being taken down by Obi Wan and left for dead on the fiery world of Mustafar. Instead of wearing this dark suit to intimidate, he had to wear it in order to survive.

So many roads not taken. Vader knew better than getting lost in them, so he dismissed them. But those that depended solely on the actions taken now, were less dismal. If he played his cards right -better than he did when he challenged Katheryn- he'd make one of them a reality.

A whirlwind of horrors suddenly assaulted him. A woman's screams. "No! Luke, stop it. He did not do anything to you!" He did not recognize the woman's voice but she sounded frightened. Vader concentrated harder. There! She saw her. 

Although he had never seen her face, her Force signature was oddly familiar. Yet he could not pinpoint from whom it belonged to. All he knew was that he had seen this woman before, a long, long time ago ...

Try harder. He willed himself into the scene. In an instant, Vader became a silent spectator, a witness who could not do or say anything to influence the events taking place before his very eyes, but could record everything.

A woman with dark brown hair and spice colored eyes which were very unusual in a human, looked straight into his son's eyes. "I am not asking you as a friend, but as a servant. I have served your father, your mother before you and now you ..." 

Luke was unmoved by her pleas. As a last recourse, the young woman sank to her knees. "By all that you hold dear, accept my offer of indentured servitude and let him go! He's done you no wrong."

"Not yet." Luke said, smiling sadistically at her. "Rise ..." He said, calling her a name he thought he had forgotten. "You really want to help him?"

"Yes!" She said, still on her knees.

Luke was still smiling. "Very well then. You shall have your wish but on one condition."

She tilted her head. Although her mind was a fortress unlike any Vader had witnessed before, her obvious distress revealed her hidden thoughts. 

"I will do anything you ask of me." She said.

Through his vast experience and interactions with hundreds of species, he had come to read people fairly well -to the point that he no longer needed to mentally probe them to know if they were being truthful or not. 

And yet, this human woman eluded him. She was human, that was evident but something within her told him differently. 

Vader focused his attention back at his son. Luke's smile disappeared then reappeared in an instant as he told her to rise, promising her he'd honor her request.

Vader studied his son. Luke had grown with his stepbrother Owen and his loving wife, Beru. He was kept ignorant of the world around him, including the harsh nature of Tatooine. Despite everything that had happened, his son still clung on to hope. It was a quality he once admired in his mother (once) but one he (now) despised.

There was no such quality in this Luke. This Luke, although no Sith, was not the naive, idealist that was currently pestering him. He was much worse.

He had seen enough of despicable politicians and madmen to guess what would happen next. 

"Run" Vader found himself telling the woman but as every other times he gazed into alternate realities and possible futures, he knew that this was a play he could not change.

_I am a meer spectator. I will watch it happen before my eyes and based on that, I can do things to prevent it from happening, or accept that I cannot change it._

The future was always in motion, but some things were impossible to change. His gut told him this was one of the latter.

Once again Vader found himself telling the woman to run but she remained rooted to the white sandy ground she was on as she waited for Luke to make his next move. 

"You questioned my decisions before, it won't happen again. Understood?" She nodded. "Now rise, I gave you an order and I expect to be obeyed."

The young woman did as she was asked. The scenery changed. Some time had passed but Luke was no less ruthless towards her. Only it wasn't just her any longer. Besides her was a silver haired man with violet eyes and fair skin and a dark haired man with cold blue eyes which glared intensely at his son.

"You tested the limits of my tolerance for your companions and this is the end result." The young woman and her companions said nothing. "I expected more from you, but that is the old tune we must all dance to and who am I to change the rules of the game?"

His three captives were not perturbed by his sick sense of humor. The doors of his chambers opened. In came his guardsmen with their white lighsabers. Vader had not seen them activate them yet but he already knew what color they'd be before they did because parts of his vision he had seen before.

He did not need to stay to watc the last part but he stayed anyway because of a morbid sense of curiosity and perhaps ... hope?

 _You fool._ Nothing would change. Everything that happened before and had yet to take place, was taking place. It was a vicious cycle from which there was no escape. 

Vader opened his eyes and willed away his melancholy. Whatever they had done, he was certain they felt it was justified in the name of whatever it was they were serving. But Luke, he seemed to enjoy watching them suffer.

 _He is no better than Sidious there._ He shook his head. No, there was still time. Sidious was a power hungry, arrogant politician who ignored the signs of his mental decay until it was too late. Luke was different. He was his son and heir, and with the right training, he could become something else. A better Sith and ruler which would make everything that he saw another one of many bubbles in time that would never take place.

Vader thought of what it must have been for those three to witness their deaths at the hands of somebody they trusted. The only one of those three who invited mental probing from his son was the middle man with silver hair.

Like the young woman, his presence was familiar but hard as he tried, he couldn't determine where he had seen him before.

Vader stayed in his meditation chambers for Force only knew how long more. But it must have been a long time because when Katheryn came, it was already nightfall.

"How was the interview?" Katheryn asked them when they were in bed. Vader was unresponsive to her touch, something that didn't seldom happen anymore. "My brother has come up with a replacement." She said, regaining his attention.

"It is not that, Katheryn. It's these visions I have been having." He explained to her how peering into the future always left him feeling hopeless. "In the past, they left a bitter taste in my mouth, now they leave me feeling nothing. No anger, frustration. Simply nothing. But these, I felt like I was Anakin Skywalker again."

That worried Katheryn. Vader sensed her worry and told her that he was not going to go back to that time when he was weak. But he couldn't shake the dread that he was left with after he revisited that vision. 

"I was nine years old when the Jedi came and rescued me from my mother. When I slept on the Nubian ship, I asked R2 to tell me about the rest of the galaxy. R2 did not hesitate." Anakin told her, cleverly omitting Padme's role in making him feel accepted the first time he was offworld. "Persephone told me that R2 chose a female personality. Doesn't surprise me, when I met her, she always struck me as a 'she'. She was more human than the members of the Jedi Council. I told her of my nightmares and instead of giving him some cold calculations like other droids would have, she asked me to tell her more. I did but I stopped every time I reached the end of my vision. It always made me sad. I do not know why. I do not know any of the people there but a part of me is still attached to them."

"Maybe they are our descendants?" Katheryn offered.

"Impossible."

"How do you know?"

"I would recognize their Force signature. They feel different. It is like I have seen them before but I also haven't. Few details change every time I gaze into the future. The future is always in motion but the end result of these events do not change." Vader stated, echoing what Master Yoda said to him decades ago.

"You are the chosen one. If anyone can stop things from happening and alter the current of time, it is you. You have to ask yourself though, if these people are worth it."

"They are not." Was the obvious answer. "But something tells me that their deaths are a disastrous event for the next generation of Skywalkers." He still couldn't shake his son's saddistic smile and sick gloating.

Katheryn saw how much this had affected him and tried to put his mind off it but again it was to no avail. "We have the galaxy dancing to our tune. No other person could have brought peace and ended the rebel threat." Katheryn said, putting her hand on his cheek, turning his face to her. "You are the Emperor. You've remade the galaxy in your image. There is no threat you cannot handle. Persephone, Luke and Leia are Skywalkers. Whatever it is that there is coming their way, they will be equip to handle it thanks to your training."

Although she was not an intellectual or a natural politician like Padme, Katheryn was a bred courtier. She always knew the right things to say. She never spoke unless she felt she had the need to, or she felt she could help someone in need -and who was in more need of her than her husband?

Vader never compared her to Padme but as of late, the more he was taken hostage by these visions, he found himself comparing the two.

Padme was calculating but idealist. Katheryn was kind but her kindness was limited to her family and to those who aided in her ambition. He was thankful for Katheryn, his imperial rose whose thorns were far deadlier than any of his veiled threats to his generals.  
She understood the power of propaganda and was the living proof that public relations and the power of pen was mightier than any blaster.  
Padme hated women like that, she thought them shameful and fake. But Padme was no better, using her flamboyant fashions and etiquette to bolster her political image, her charity to buy allies in the senate.

Anakin used to tease her that she spent too much time going through talking points rather than being agressive and getting things done. In response, Padme had changed her tactics, demonstrating to him that she was as much a political warrior as a woman of action.

What would she say now to him? Vader did not have to guess but he asked himself that question nonetheless. Padme had been right of course. Women like Katheryn were shameful. Dumbing their speech and acting helpless in public to gain approval and sympathy; yet that was life.  
In her years as his Empress, Katheryn had done more for the downtrodden than Padme could have ever dreamed of.

 _And yet, her words still haunts you. Because you know deep down Padme was a woman who didn't compromise, who would have rather been flogged and racked to death than letting herself be turned into a public ornament._ His subconscious chided.

 _Yes, but she is no longer here is she?_ He shot back. He waited until Katheryn was deep asleep to delve back into that forbidden world of unchangable sorrow and endless darkness. It was an obsession. He should let it go but he could not. He needed to dig deeper into the darkest recess of his mind to see the reason why these visions were affecting him so much.

* * *

A gloating smile danced on the face of Luke Skywalker as he beat his training partner. "You are getting cocky, brother." Persephone said. 

In the background was R2 and C-3PO watching with interest. "Humans." The golden protocol droid said. His tone was heavy with disapproval. R2 gave amused beeps which made C-3PO frustrated. "Seriously R2, you give their species too much credit."

C-3PO had a droll sense of humor and he was everyone's source of comic relief but as of late, he had been more frustrated with humans than usual. Namely the Skywalkers. With his memories restored, C-3PO saw no reason why he should held back his opinions to his longtime friend and partner-in-crime, R2.  
For one, he had ceased calling Master Luke 'master' when the imperial family wasn't present.

"Cannibalistic in nature, they eat each other and expect us to bow down our heads in submission. I am not going to have any more adventures when this is all done."

R2 asked him what did he expect to do then? "We are both programmed to serve, so that is what we will do. We should do no more and they should expect no more of us except what is given."

R2 guessed that sounded reasonable, yet a part within the astromech droid wished she could disagree.

Luke evaded one of his half-sister's blows. The training droids had been smashed to pieces by Persephone so she expected that she would defeat Luke again easily. Luke had not had expert swordsmen training him like her, but he was a fast learner and his painful sessions with Vader, had left him better prepared.

He no longer hesitated. He could be in the moment and also analyze things quickly, determining what would be his best course of action to take down his enemy, regardless of who he, she or they were.

When their training session was over, Persephone commended Luke. "I will miss practicing with you. Droids are too predictable, even when I program to behave randomly. There is only so much algorythms they can choose from and they always understimate the human mind."

"You are the one who understimates. You're far better than you give yourself credit for." Luke said, grabbing a towel to wipe the sweat off his forehead. "How are your meditating sessions?"

"Same. That is the one area I can't master. My mind is always going around circles, there are just too much thoughts in my head."

"That is why you should be mindful of the Force. Give yourself to its will, and you will find the whole world around you dissolving until there is nothing but the Force."

"Maybe the Force doesn't want me to be at peace." Persephone joked but for Luke it was no laughing matter. 

"I used to think that it was impossible but the trick is stop trying. Simply let every doubt, fear and thought going through your head pass through you until it is gone and there is nothing but the Force. Once you do that, anything becomes possible." Luke told his sister.

Persephone's heart wasn't blackened by malice, greed and the dark side but she had been heavily influenced by Sith philosophy. While he couldn't stop the dark side from digging its clutches deeper into his soul, he could save Persephone. Like Leia, his younger sister had a good heart so Luke made sure before the last tendrils of the dark side made their way into his heart, that she'd give herself to the light so she'd help Leia fulfill their father's destiny.


	10. Sink or Swim

_“The strenght of women is comparable to that of men when they are stuck between a wall and a hard place. Understimate us and you shall find a dagger in your heart.”_ ~Sinners & Saints in the Galactic Empire by Lotte of Bavaria

**Naboo, Theed City**

Conviction was thrust into his being. If Han Solo could not be convinced, Paul would use other means. Paul spoke of Vader’s awareness of other rebel cells besides those commanded by his old girlfriend.

“I don’t understand you. Why is the rebel alliance still fixated on rescuing me? You should be going after the golden duo.”

“Solo, clearly your stay here has numbed your brain. If there was the slimmest chance that we could get to either one of them, we would. Vader has them well guarded. We are out of options. Like it or not, it all rests on you.”

“Yeah, the fate of the galaxy and all that useless drabble. They should have sent a better orator.” Han said, sitting on the bench in front of the monument of the first elected King of Naboo. “This bloke here thought he could change things and look where he is now. He became the most popular dead man in town. Fought honorably, selflessly and still, no one could be bothered to defend him when he needed it the most.”

“Is that your answer to everything? Not everyone has your bleak outlook. As long as there is light, there is still hope.”

“You are a realist, Drake. You’d never risk your ass unless there was something in it for you. So tell me, what did your good old brother say to get you into this hot mess?”

Paul coldly laughed. “I wish I could humor you with my personal problems but I keep my personal life, personal. All I can say is what I maintained earlier. This is bigger than you and me.”

“It always is. Leia will be all over you if you give her this pep talk. I am a smuggler. I am not the good guy.” Han said, pointing his finger to his chest. “I have done things that would shake even the likes of your brother’s Jedi sweetheart to her heart.” Then it clicked to him. “She is the one who put you up for this.”

“Really? You have known me for years. You’ve just said it. If my brother can’t get my butt off my bed and move me with the sobs stories of countless rebels who’ve lost their livelihoods thanks to the Empire, to join his crusade, what makes you think his wife could?”

Han said nothing to that.

Paul went on to add, “They want to make this easy. Money is no longer the issue. If it were, they would have risked what little they have left to get to the Sun Twins.”

“Sun Twins. I am sure Leia will love hearing that.” Han said sarcastically. He rubbed his forehead. “Just tell me that she did not put you up for this. And hold it before you give me some crappy excuse to convince me that she did not. I know better. She is a Jedi, she can do more than those mind tricks to get you to do something.”

“She has tried for years and they never work. I wish I can tell you more but like you, I am bound by the love I have for my family.”

“Family.” Han scoffed. “It is good to have one if they give two hoots about you. Me? I do not even know who my people are or where I came from.” The closest thing he’d gotten to a family was Luke and Leia, but they were falling deeper into the rabbit hole to the point that Vader no longer had to push them. The two would fall on their own. Han wasn’t certain he wanted to be around when that happened.  
 _But I am still here._ If he had never met Leia, he would still be having wild adventures, swindling gangsters out of their money and testing the limits of the most dangerous crime bosses in the galaxy’s patience, and getting ahead each time.  
 _You can kiss that future goodbye. Even trapped here, he could have still escaped but he made his bed the day that he took Leia to his._  
 _She got you good._ No, it was him. It was all him. The Skywalker twins were going straight to hell and Han was going with them.

Paul put his hand on Han’s arm. “There is still time to salvage what you still can from this cluster fuck.” The former smuggler, imperial, turned rebel spy told him. “You should also know that if I get captured, you will be questioned for which you’re allowed to divulge everything I have said. Well, almost everything.”

Han was no snitch. That did not matter. Paul said that the rebel alliance was throwing their whole lot for him. “You still haven’t answered my question though. And no more excuses. You are Paul Drake. You always sleaze your way out of trouble. So give it to me straight, Paul.” He said, going on first name basis with him.

“If you must, Mon Mothma and my brother’s wife were against this from the start.”

“That’s no surprise there.” Han said, knowing that the revelation was coming of how Sandra and Mon came to the conclusion that he was their most valuable player. How they came to that conclusion still baffled Han, but he did not care to find out. All he wanted was confirmation that Paul’s meddling former Jedi sister-in-law and Mon were behind this suicide mission, and what they got on Drake that got him to agree to this madness.

“It’s not them.” Paul said. He went against his orders and revealed who it was that convinced the rebel leaders to put their trust on him.

“Impossible. Lando? They would never trust him.”

“They still do not but he knows you, and that was enough to convince them. Lando’s connection in the underworld and the mining business have also upped their winning chances.”

“There is no winning this.” Han maintained. “Why are you really here Paul?” Paul said nothing. Han smirked. “Suit yourself then. I sure hope that your brother and his wife is not left with consequence and shame.” Han got up and walked back inside, Paul followed.

“The emperor will find you out and if not him, his brother-in-law will. He is more conniving than he is. You will be just another statistic for them.”

“We all got to die sometime.” Was all that Paul said before leaving Han rest in his chambers, where he had a collection of training blasters. He took one, Chewie who was in the shooting room adjacent to Han’s chambers had taken the other. Paul stood outside the room, waiting until the two finished venting their rage.

**~o~**

Kitty found a holographic image of Padme Amidala in the throne room. It was the one place she couldn't sink her claws into. Despite all the changes and reforms, the people from Naboo refused to let go of her memory. The harder she pushed back against her, the more they clung to their precious Padme. She had become a martyr, their saintly figurehead to use whenever it was convenient against their enemies. Be it the empire or the rebels. Vader saw no use in making enemies out of them. That had been his master's mistake, he'd told her. So he let them keep their martyr and erect statues of her in select places where Kitty did not have to set foot on. _And in here_ , she thought angrily. Her holographic image of her last year as Naboo's Queen served as a reminder to every incumbent leader of what her people treasured most in their rulers. To fuel her ire, when she had been greeted by the Grand Moff, he told her how much she was a source of inspiration to him and his men.

Kitty voiced her dismayed to Charles. He told her to let it go and not worry about a dead woman's influence. _“She has been dead for nearly three decades. Nobody cares about her legacy anymore. She's a saint and saints are what people make of them, used and discarded whenever they see fit.”_

That is where Charles was wrong. Fortunately her other brothers agreed with her. As long as Luke’s heart remained pure, her husband would always be reminded of his first wife.

Four days after she had arrived to Theed, Lizzie brought her terrible news. The rebels had killed their cousin, Thomas Culpeper.

Thomas Culpeper had served the late Kings of England, Henry VIII and his eldest son Edward VI before he was promoted to Chief Justice in England. After that, he served as Spymaster, a new position that Vader had created specifically for him.

There was nothing that Vader did not do to keep her happy. Everyone know that to obtain favor in the empire, they had to win the empress’ favor first. It was a grueling task. The first days, she had to hear boring speeches and withhold her disgust at all the sniveling politicians, remnants of the old republic. But she’d gotten used to it.

She was after all a Howard. A descendant of Kings with noble blood cursing through her veins. And what was more, there was a fierce loyalty and love for Anakin and their empire that moved her soul. Nothing and no one could stand between them. His dreams were her dreams, and what was deemed impossible for him to accomplish, there she was, standing by his side, determined to make it possible.

There were so many people that whispered behind her back. _“There comes the emperor’s kitten.”_ They were now all subdued or lying six feet under. Howards always persevered because they understood human nature better than anyone else, and were willing to do whatever it took to get the job done.

Whatever it took. Buying people’s loyalty, subtly threatening them, and if that did not work, using blackmail and her top dogs to get the job done.

Vader warned her once what one of his enemies once told him, _“the higher they rise, the prouder they are, the faster and harder they fell the fall.”_ In response, Kitty told him that while others fought against the current, Howards simply learned to swim better. They took their time. Plotting, waiting for the right moment to strike and take down their enemies, so they’d once again be walking up the steps of power and be the ones holding the strings.  
“ _If a mistake is made, we learn from it and move forward. My grandfather survived all the ordeals visited on him by showing His Majesty, first Henry VII and then his son, Henry VIII, that no task was too big for to carry out. While others begged and tried to convince their new sovereign of how sorry they were fighting for the usurper, my grandfather stood his ground. ‘Sire, Richard Plantagenet was an anointed king, recognized by parliament as such. Under our most sacred and dearly held laws, it befell unto every Englishman, low and highborn to obey his mandates. If parliament had put a crown on a stick, I would have got down on my knees and kissed that stick.’ So you see, darling, there is no lack of opportunities for us to shine.”_  
But her husband remained skeptical. Then one day when one of his Moffs was brought to them while they were dining, she proved she was right. The man in question as Admiral Motti. Motti had long been a thorn on Vader’s side. But he couldn’t choke him to his grave without incurring the wrath of his men. Conan Motti held the loyalty and respect of many of his men –a luxury not many had. So, when his beaten form was brought to them, by her cousin, Thomas Culpeper, Vader used this to turn the imperial army against him.  
Employing good old fashioned pillow talk, Kitty convinced him to use the press as well, so everyone would know of his treachery and there’d be no sympathy for him.  
It worked. It took less than an hour for his former colleagues to declare him guilty and even less for the entire galaxy to tune in to watch his execution.

Now Thomas was dead. Her eyes pierced the moving image of Padme. Kitty was no longer a young woman but she was still beautiful and highly desirable. She pursed her lips. There were so many things she wanted to say to Padme. If she had her in front of her, she would but what good was railing against a dead woman?

Padme lost. Kitty is the one who spent her nights warming Anakin Skywalker’s bed while Padme Amidala had been reduced to ashes. The Naberries no longer held power. Their influence had been taken away and replaced with bitter nostalgia that left them reminiscing of the good old days, where their House was synonymous with honor and justice.

And yet, she still had that need to rail against this deadly ghost. She selfishly prayed day and night, going so far as to lay on the ground, with her arms wide open, forming a cross so that the Lord would listen.

Thomas Culpeper’s death was proof that the rebels were getting desperate. She asked Lizzie if she was certain, feeling dumb afterwards. Of course, he was dead. Lizzie would never come to her cousin with a news this grave unless she was certain.  
Lizzie explained how they found him on the ocean world of Castilon, where he and his reconnaissance team were following a lead on one of the rebels. After he did not report back to headquarters, a search team was sent. They came back a day later with his mangled body.  
People with nothing left to lose became desperate and desperate people did unspeakable things. If Luke does not become Vader’s heir, he will be forced to destroy him and that will destroy him. He’d never be able to live with himself afterwards. His guilt would consume him and leave him open to attack. It’d be up to Kitty and their allies to keep it together. But for how long?  
Kitty was not a politician. She was a consort, a mediator and peacemaker. Even her brothers trembled with fear when they pondered on this dark scenario.  
 _No, Luke must embrace his destiny._ If he did not, then Kitty would once again use her powers of persuasion with those around him, pulling the strings so that little by little, Luke was driven to the edge of a cliff. And then it will be sink or swim. He can either sink and drown himself in that useless Jedi philosophy of his or swim.

Kitty’s blue-green eyes once against pierced the chocolate brown eyes of Padme Amidala. God damn her, she did not care if there was someone nearby listening. She was going to say what she wanted to say. She was a Howard after all. Howards were not held back by guilt or fear.  
“You may have died with a clean conscience, believing that Luke and Leia can redeem their father but it will be my husband who redeems them. My husband will make sure they accept their destinies, and when he is done breaking them, Luke will be molded in his image so that he rules after he’s gone, so no one and nothing can threaten us anymore.” With that, she turned on her heel and left.

**~o~**

Mary Tudor oversaw the scribes writing down her dictums. These would form part of a constitution that the emperor’s kitten would take to the emperor to approve so that it became the new rule of law on Earth.

The articles made it no different than the constitution of Clarendon that her ancestor, Henry II of England, had drafted over four hundred years ago. The main difference though was that there would be virtually no opposition. Whoever did oppose it would be silenced.

Without preamble, Mary ordered him to read it aloud to her so her granddaughter would hear. Charlotte hid a roll of her eyes from her grandmother, rolling them when she wasn’t looking but she knew right away when she turned her head towards her and chided her for it.

Mary always knew when someone was mocking her, or speaking against her. Charlotte used to joke with her dad that she had eyes in the back of her head. Her dad said that she had a sixth sense. No matter how much people tried to hide their intentions from her, Mary always knew them.  
It was quite scary but then again adults were weird. They did things that made no sense.

“When you are my age, you will be reading this to your grandson. If you’re lucky, you will have a plethora of them to safeguard your legacy.” Mary told Lotte, passing her fingers through her granddaughter’s loose strawberry blond hair. She was grateful that her grandchildren were more Tudor than her offspring.

“These new laws will end the old regimes. People will once again be encourage to worship where they please, how they please so long they do not meddle in state affairs. The old ‘new ways’ are over. Law will be the rule of the land, and faith the thing that holds everything together.”

It sounded too harsh. When Lotte came of age, she would rule through love rather than fear. “There will be those that are unhappy. They always are. But they will obey like everyone else, because to Caesar what is of Caesar.” Mary said quoting scripture. “Priests will object in their writings. That is alright, they write whatever they want as long as it’s aimed to their religious brethren. Their complaints will be seen as obstacles by them who will see the empire as contrary to their way of life, but as an opportunity to strengthen their godly resolve and shut themselves from the secular world.”

“Kill them with mercy.” Lotte said, recalling what her dad had said about war and diplomacy when she still lived with him.

“It is easier to subjugate through logic than through brute force. Never forget that and you will never have to worry about anything else.” Mary told her.

When Mary went to her chambers to oversee Princess Leia’s activities, Lotte spent the remainder of her day reading the books her grandmother was allowing her to read. One of them was an old one, which she said had been written for her when she was no older than Lotte’s age.

It was titled **_The Education of a Christian Princess._** The author was Juan Luis Vives. Lotte had read about him in her datapad. After one hour, Lotte got bored. It was a chore finishing it, but she had to. Lotte hated being halfway done with a book.  
She snuck out of her bedroom and went to her grandmother’s chambers. There, she found a miniature of her with her cousin, Charles V, inscribed on the front of her dress. There were other archaic miniatures from when she was a child. None of them seemed special except for one. It was her grandmother when she was a teenager. Though it was like the rest, there was something about the way her eyes were painted that it seemed as she was staring directly at her. Behind her teenage grandmother was a woman whom Lotte assumed was Catherine of Aragon. She looked less stern but terribly worn down.  
Lotte went over some of her other possessions. In a wooden box painted scarlet red were letters, poems and sketches. All which revealed how talented her grandmother had been, and how all that talent had gone underappreciated by Henry VIII.  
They did not reveal much. Most of them were directed at Henry VIII, Charles V and his ambassador Eustace Chapuys whom her dad had told her, had been Mary’s only friend during her trying years at her father’s court. Lotte read all of them. She put all of them back in place when she felt something calling to her. That brought her on her grandmother’s bed. She somehow knew where to find the source of her calling. Under one of her pillows was a black pouch. Inside it was a little crystal ball.

It was a holographic encyclopedia. Most of them contained basic information that were used by elementary school teachers. Without the right device, Lotte couldn’t play it. Hearing her grandmother approaching, Lotte put it back, pushing the pouch underneath her pillow again and then got out of there.

There were many questions revolving around her head. Her curiosity had been piqued. Until she found what her grandmother was hiding, she would not rest easy.

**~o~**

Luke wanted to make her believe that she was as strong as he was. Leia was not. Tonight after she left Han’s bedroom, she went to the balcony to contemplate the night sky. She had followed Luke’s teachings, crossing her legs and meditating but whenever she did, she could not see nor hear anything except her own troubled thoughts.

Staring at the night sky offered her more results. Tears fell from her eyes. Whenever she felt sad or angry, she did not cry. She held it all in. Tonight however, was different. Her tears could only be a sign that what she had sought for so long, was finally going to be achieved.

 _Empty your mind_. She told herself.

Leia closed her eyes and at once, the room and the sounds of crickets outside the lake house of Naboo, were replaced by other worlds and places that she had only seen before in her dreams as a child. Except everything was clear. She could make out the people involved and what they were saying.

The past was open to her as was the present. All that is left is the future. That was like navigating through turbulent waters. Each present action plotted a new course, and every course was hazy to her as the past had once been.

The future was always in motion, always changing. Whenever she thought she had reached land, the future events she saw were replaced by other possible timelines.

Finally, Leia pulled out when it became too much for her. The Force was testing her to see if she was strong enough to withstand the onslaught of information. _Challenge accepted_. Leia was going to push through those light barriers until she saw what she was looking for, and in doing so, save Luke and everyone else from the Sith.


	11. The Flow of Time

**“Truth is ever to be found in simplicity, and not in the multiplicity and confusion of things." - Isaac Newton**

**Naboo**

Lotte snuck past the guards again but she was quickly found out by the Imperial princess, lady Persephone. “What do you got there?”

There was no way Lotte was going to show her but as she weighed her options, the logical part of her brain told her it was best to confess. Persephone was going to find out either way. She was a strong Force sensitive. While not as strong as the rebel darlings and imperial heirs, sun twins, she was strong enough to read her thoughts. It was a form of telepathy that was enviable by (both the) Jedi and Sith.

The only reputable Force user _rumored_ to have this ability was Darth Malgus. Not before a Jedi Knight nearly killed him, forcing a breathing apparatus on him for which he became widely known.

“The Duchess will tan your favorite toy droid’s hide if she finds out.” Lady Persephone said referring to her fluffy doll, which was the only thing that she was allowed to bring from her old house.

“If you wanted to sneak inside, you should have hired better help or someone who knows how to get in without being seen or sensed.” The Princess sensed winking at the six year old.

Lotte smiled and told her that she was unsure if Persephone would help her. Persephone was always so proper and a strict follower of the rules unlike her mother who was more fun to be around with. But Persephone quickly reassured her that for her, she’d do anything. She considered Lotte like the little sister she never had.

“I have tried activating it in the thin podium grandmam has in her office but it didn’t work. The only reason I can come up for that is that it is quite old.”

“You are not wrong there.” The youngest imperial princess said. “The crystal coloring can only mean that it comes from the times of the Great Galactic War which means that it must have belonged to the last Sith Emperor.”

At this, Lotte’s eyes widened. It was a period of history she was most interested in, since it was way before the unification of England under Alfred the Great, King of Wessex. However, one thing bothered her. “Why would the Emperor entrust grandmam with this?”

“I can’t answer that. But maybe finding out what is inside this can.” The two devised a plan to travel to the Grizmallt library outside the city limits of Theed when the Tudor sisters were preoccupied with their respective duties. There, they found one of the few devices where this chronicler could be projected.

They were surprised by what they saw. Lotte was left more confused than before. On their way back, she asked Persephone why her father would keep this a secret. Surely revealing this to the public would crush what little belief people had about the Jedi being the good guys.

“It is not that simple. It’s like proving a negative, if the people believe with all their heart that the Jedi are good, nothing he says or shows will make them believe otherwise.”

“Adults are weird.” Lotte said, feeling glad that she wasn’t one. “It reminds me of an old story, from the pagan times. There was this beautiful woman whose beauty made the own Aphrodite, goddess of love and beauty jealous. She sent her son Eros to strike an arrow in her heart so she’d fall in love with an ugly beast but upon seeing her, he fell madly in love with her so to prove to his mother that she was as beautiful as her heart was pure, he wooed her without showing his face to her.”

“I think I heard that story but I have a feeling it ends differently from what I was told.”

Lotte went on, uninterrupted this time. “When she couldn’t resist her curiosity, her mother-in-law-to-be sent her to hell so she’d retrieve something from the God of the underworld’s keep. Hades wasn’t moved by her pleas but his wife, Persephone, was. She was sent back to the land of the living, now with the appearance of an old woman, near death. Eros did not care how she looked. He pleaded with his mother to make her immortal so the two of them could live with together. Seeing how far she was willing to go for love, Aphrodite accepted and gave her the golden drink of the gods which granted her immortality, and she got to live happily ever after with Eros.”

“My father is not a god.” Persephone said.

“He is the chosen one.” Lotte reminded her. “Some people consider him equal to a god, and his mother the closest thing there is to a holy Madonna. If he uses the facilities the emperor built and his own power, there will be left no doubt he is one.”

“Perhaps.” Persephone said, finding the prospect terrifying. The two talked no more about the subject. The Duchess Dowager returned late, finding nothing out of place in her chambers.

Lotte put what she learned out of her mind, thus sleeping soundly with no terrifying nightmares to trouble her. Persephone on the other hand, could not.

**~o~**

Leia was not going to give up. She dissolved all doubts from her head. She found that her sexual activity with Han, increased her prescience tenfold. Closing her eyes, after she sensed Han was soundly asleep, she let herself be lost in her visions.

So many endless possibilities. Master Yoda had come to her in her dreams, telling her that time was like a river. He was wrong. It was an endless ocean where no matter where she rowed, she was faced with a new timeline. Sometimes she found herself drowning, going deeper and deeper, seeing glimpses of alternate timelines and worlds within worlds that would no longer be. Each time that she was pulled by these dark tendrils that represented the dark side of the Force, she remembered her time with Han, her childhood with her adoptive parents, the Ghost crew and everyone else she befriended in the rebel alliance. People who believed in her, and whom she owed everything. That made her strong and she was able to break free before they dragged her deeper down.

In the present vision she was, after she broke free from the dark side tendrils, she saw her father kneeling over a lightsaber he had picked up from a snow, buried beneath a clone trooper helmet –a relic of a bygone era. She immediately knew that the Force was showing her the past.

Taking off his helmet, she saw a man scarred by loss and betrayal. The scar on his right eye was an open book that told her of everything he had done for the old republic and the Jedi Order. Ultimately though, like everyone else in his life, they turned their backs on him. It was strange, forming this mental connection with her father –a man she had reluctantly called such. This was the same monster who tortured and forced her to watch the destruction of her homeworld.

 _And yet, I cannot deny the obvious truth that he is my father._ She begrudged the Force for showing her this. She had little choice in the matter but open her mind to his. Thus, every angry thought and negative emotion that went through his head, shook her to her core.

There was so much anger and hate that was similar to hers that it scared her _. Are we so different?_

Leia walked next to her father. He slowly rose and activated his former padawan’s lightsaber then put his helmet back on with his free hand. A sound from above of a bird he thought he’d never see brought him back to the present time. The memories of Mortis resurfaced and in doing so, Leia received an onslaught of images of his time there with his former master and apprentice.

The memory dissolved and was replaced by a vision of a future. In a planet in the mid rim sector, in the old world of Jedha, was a woman with red hair that oddly resembled the Duchess Dowager’s daughter. Could this be the lady Charlotte, all grown up? It certainly seemed like it. Unlike present-day Charlotte, this older version of her had a wicked smile that did not reach her kind eyes.  
Those sky blue orbs reflected wisdom beyond her years. She was in a restaurant of some sorts, accompanied by two men. One with silver hair and violet eyes and the other one, seated next to her right was raven haired, with hard features yet with a stoic bearing.

The three were chatting wildly about their latest adventure. The Force was strong with them but something in them felt out of place. Before she could examine this scene more closely, there was an explosion outside. Everyone rushed to see what was going on, while they simply scurried away from the place through the back door.

Leia followed them. Before any of them could make it to the speeder, a convoy of stormtroopers arrested them and took them to Admiral Piett. The interrogation on his part convinced her this was –without a doubt- a vision of the future. Firmus Piett looked older but no less alert. His eyes reflected pity, something that was not unusual in the admiral. Unlike the other imperial officers, Piett did not take pleasure in making others suffer. He used cruelty as his last resort.

Ambitious, conniving and extremely disciplined, Firmus Piett was consequently more in control of his emotions than his fellow officers.

Something that they said made the old admiral feel sorry for the trio. Leia tried to replay the vision but the Force wouldn’t let her. It was showing her what she wanted. If she couldn’t make everything out, it was because something was holding her back or she wasn’t concentrating hard enough. Either way, Leia had to work with what she had, so she set her blanked her mind from all distractions so only this moment in time remained.

_ **SOMEWHERE/SOMETIME IN THE FUTURE …** _

Ruth, she loved having this name. People heard it and didn’t think her strange or found her odd behavior a cause for alarm. She was an earthling –earthlings as far as they knew were odd.

“Hey, Paul.” Paul looked up. “You like this? It is the second name I chose this year. Do you think this look is too much?”

“None at all but if I may?” Ruth nodded. Paul stood up, pulled up a chair and waited until she sat to put on an expensive necklace of precious stones. “Perry gave me this. He said you should stick to your first choice of name. I concur, it sounds much better and it suits you.”

“It is too simple and simplicity raises suspicions.”

“People make snaps decisions, humans above all and what is too simple either raises suspicions or goes without notice because most of them think suspicious something that sounds mysterious … exotic if you will.”

Ruth chuckled. “You are starting to sound like Perry. How is Alan these days?”

Paul Drake’s face darkened. “He doesn’t want to see me and I do not blame him.” He sat back again, his chair very close to his.

“I cannot help but feel sorry for him. He must have known that you would have taken his opportunity of becoming a private investigator. The poor man. After Sandra left, he saw no reason to continue fighting.”

“It is not just Sandra. It is the entire rebel alliance. Perry offered him a sweet deal, he should have accepted our help.” Paul said, not feeling sorry at all for the older Drake.

“Still can’t help but feel pity for the poor man. Have you seen him lately? Age is starting to catch up to him and he’s not much older than Perry.” Ruth pointed out. Paul nodded. Still, he did not feel moved by the older brother’s plight.

“Has Perry invited you to the opening Gala of the Emperor’s new palace?” Ruth blushed. “No one deserves it more than you, beautiful. It is a shame I cannot see you in that red dress. I always thought blue and silver a waste on you but you insisted. Good thing that he respects your unique tastes.”

“You should know better than to test me, Paul. I don’t possess your rich rhetoric but I am a faster thinker than you.”

She was. Without thinking, Paul got closer to her and stole a kiss. They were risking their lives doing this, living out in the open, pretending they were something other than what they actually were but who cared about the truth anymore?

The galaxy had abandoned the pursuit of truth for half-truths and pleasurable lies that ensured them a comfortable life, free of conflict and danger. It was pathetic. But then again, most beings were. They’d rather give up their freedoms, including their reason, if it meant living a few days more consuming and fucking.

Ruth broke the kiss. Paul chuckled. He gave her a sad smile, “It was worth a shot. Maybe in another life.” He said then stood up and left.

 **THE NEXT** image showed Leia a sadder event. An older Katheryn Howard stood next to her brother Luke. Luke was not the sweet, naïve boy she had met over five years ago after her homeworld of Alderaan had been destroyed. This Luke had gone full Sith. His eyes red and yellow with a remaining light blue around them, making him look more sinister.

Once again, Leia’s consciousness became a blur, becoming one with the vision so it’d not be interrupted.

There is no emotion, there is peace –were her last thoughts before she became one with the world of the future.

In front of the Imperial Lord Protector were the three greatest offenders of the core systems. “What do you have to say for yourselves?”

“My lord, I proceed with diligence with every case. I don’t merely want to know things, I want to prove things. Every person I represent, every evidence that I present is for their benefit. Consequently, their exoneration also benefits the empire.”

“How so councilor? These people defied imperial law.”

“No one is guilty until proven to the contrary. None of my clients did anything that challenges imperial authority. Every one of them is an outstanding citizen. But you already know this.” Perry said, his tone one of defiance, those his face remained expressionless.

“You are a master orator, Mister Mason but you are not going to get off easy. Your secretary and your top investigator violated the empire’s prime law which does challenge imperial authority. Had they gone farther, we would have a major scandal on our hands.”

“I agree but the fact of the matter is, none of your fears came true so there’s no reason for this citation.” Perry said, waving the paper of said citation in his left hand. It was intentional, since said hand had the burnt scar from when he rescued Della from that burning building.

Luke said nothing to this. He recognized when he was bested. Unlike other Siths and Jedis of times past, he recognized his limitations and used his strengths where they were most beneficial. As far as his weaknesses went, he was no longer ashamed of them. Without them, he would not have gone –nor survived- this far.

One glance to his stepmother was her cue to take over. Katheryn smiled at the three offenders. Her smile did not reach her eyes. She was like a cat before she devoured her prey. “Mr. Drake, your break-ins, excuses and run-ins with inquisitors, not to mention upping the death troopers have been ignored because of your friend here, Mr. Mason’s legal immunity but there is only so much that you can be allowed to get away with. I won’t go around in circles, Mr. Drake. Your luck is running out and unless your friend’s legal immunity extends to you in your next offense, this will be your last warning.”

Paul did not mind being chided. He had endured a lot of that in the past but this was different His eyes bore deep into the empress, yet they did not have the challenging gaze that his colleague Perry had.

“Duly noted, Your Imperial Highness and my lord,” Perry said, taking off his black hat to both before his friends bowed their heads down to the two imperials.

“We need good men like you, Mr Mason. The good lord has blessed you with sound judgment. Pray that he continues to do so.” With that, the legal trio left the imperial palace.

“Should we send a probe droid?” Luke shook his head. “A mole then? My kind will do anything for the right price.” Katheryn suggested.

“It will not do. They are in high demand. The last thing I need is to make martyrs of them.” Luke said, although Kitty knew that he was really talking about Mason since he was the most important chess piece in this political game.

 **AGAIN** the scene changed. **THIS TIME** the red haired woman was under another name. Leia had been so sure she was the Duchess Dowager’s granddaughter but after these interactions, she was convinced she was a separate entity. And yet, she looks so much like little Charlotte.

Leia emptied her mind, and let herself be raptured by the stream.

The red haired woman was kneeling before Paul Drake. “For want of a nail.” He was babbling, saying incoherent phrases that made no sense except to Della Street and Perry Mason. “They are going to come for you. No matter how much you do for them, they will never stop coming.”

“Save your strength, old friend.”

Paul laughed coldly. His laughter was quickly replaced by painful coughs. “When it is all said and done …” More coughing, following by black bile and blood. “I am not that much of a good judge of character but you … you outdid all my experience … R-R…”

The vision ended. Leia could not make out Paul Drake’s last words. None of her visions made sense and yet the Force was telling her that they were all indicators of what was to come. _Is the Force mocking me? Is it showing this as some form of dark twisted comedy to amuse itself as I try to prevent the unavoidable_? There had to be another explanation. The future was not set in stone. Every ripple in time, every action created a new timeline –which could only mean that what she saw could be undone.

 _Or maybe it is a trap laid by the Sith._ Perhaps her father had found a way to influence her through her dreams, planting ideas in her head to make her think she was seeing the future when in reality, she was seeing a façade. _Or maybe I am turning crazy._

She wouldn’t put it past her. All Skywalkers were good for was unleashing hell on the galaxy.

In the present Paul Drake had hair as bright as gold. Although there were good dyes, none were so good to make his hair silver haired like that. It looked natural, although that hair color and his violet eyes made him look unnatural.

Suppose this is all true, is there nothing I can do to prevent that terrible future? Saving her brother and the galaxy were her top priorities. Luke believed her to be the one to destroy the empire and restore balance to the Force. She’d do it. For Luke and everyone else who risked their lives for this ideal; but the one thing she found herself dreading is having to face Luke in the near future.

But I will have to and when that time comes, what will I become? Leia did not want to ponder on that anymore. She returned to her bedchamber. Han was already awake. The two of them did not say anything for a while.

Although he was no Jedi, he could sense something was not right but didn’t press her. Leia was grateful for that. Han had his own inner demons to contend with.

* * *

**Castilon, Outer Rim**

Ahsoka saw nothing except ruins. She disapproved of what was done to the empress’ cousin. Mon Mothma said it was a necessary evil. In response, Ahsoka had told her, “You don’t destroy evil with evil.” It made her sound like an idealist, but she was not.

Her idealism died with her fellow teammates, the clone troopers. Peace and justice were a luxury few people had –but that did not mean that it was a dream not worth fighting for.

 _What are we fighting for anymore?_ Ahsoka told Mon she would be with the rebel alliance with the end, but if she was going to have her own platoon, none of them would engage in such atrocities. Mon accepted. The rest of the rebels did not approve of this, but they did not voice any objection.

 _Anakin._ Her master was a man of morals and principles who broke the rules for the sake of others. At times he could be reckless, but even then, he was selfless. Yet, the darkness within was too much for him to contain.

Had he not married that spoiled, vainglorious woman, Anakin would have never reached this level of egomania. The woman loved him. As greedy and vain as she was, that two-faced harpy loved him. And it was that love that made his darkness stronger.

She and her platoon walked away from the burial of Sir Thomas Culpeper. "Where next to boss?” One of them asked.

Jakku was her natural answer. _Not yet._ There were still many things to do here. The Empire was not expecting the rebels to be so bold as to do another attack here. “The other side of the planet. There is a droid factory there next to the mining guild controlled by the empire.”

“It will be heavily guarded.” Another one said.

“Not during the festival of Alcon. The inhabitants’ observance of this festival will be what breaks the camel’s back and forces the empire to send its sleeper forces on the outer rim which will leave some of the worlds in the mid rim sectors vulnerable for attack.”

The men and women in her group were convinced. They followed the Togruta woman to the nearest town where they took a speed ferry that took them to their destination. Every one of them trusted her. One male twi’lek, a half human, half Sabrak female, a female Munn, and two human males and one human female. All of them were no older than she had been when she had become Anakin’s padawan.

All of them had a lot to lose, but most did not care if they lost their lives in the process. The thought of revenge was payment enough. _Revenge is not the Jedi way_. Ahsoka’s face hardened. _I am no Jedi._


	12. Knowledge is a terrible thing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leia's mission becomes clear to her until Han convinces her that she should not be blind to her newly acquired powers. Ahsoka is faced with a difficult decision and the truth surrounding Paul Drake's impending doom finally comes afloat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In most chapters I did not put where many of the planets were located. Whether they belonged to the Core Sector, Mid Rim sector or in the outer rim or the unknown regions. The diaologue indicated that but for this chapter, I decided to specify where these are located because one thing about Star Wars politics is that it's hard to understand if you don't know which system a planet belongs to or what part of the galaxy is located on.

_"Your insight serves you well. Bury your feelings deep down, Luke. They do you credit, but they could be made to serve the Emperor."~_ Obi Wan Kenobi, Return of the Jedi

**Hosnian Prime  
Core Sector**

“There were more people there than I have ever seen, and I have been nearly every part of the mid-Rim.” Rex said. Ahsokae was grateful that he and Wolf had joined them.

“Then you sure haven’t been to Balosar.” Ahsoka said.

“Balosar?” Anastasia, their oldest and most recent of their addition, said raising a skeptical eyebrow. “You have to be jesting. That planet is the laughing stock of the Core systems.”

“That is because no one has given an official record of its census and mind you, Rex and Wolf have been to nearly every part of the galaxy but not Balosar.” Ahsoka pulled out a map she’d stolen from an arms dealer she had _run into_ in Coruscant. “Here is the capital, Coruscant, near the center of the galaxy. The beacon of freedom and shining jewel of the galaxy.”

“What else is new?” Said Wolf. Many of her platoon laughed.

“The old Sith Empire in the time of the first republic had set up its factories near the unknown regions. With Palpatine gone, Vader has kept on with the usual factories. However, financial records from a trusted source reveals that he has been allocating sources to secret bases to in inhospitable planets of in the galaxy’s Core. Balosar is one of them.”

“It makes sense. Balosar has never been colonized except by a brave few and they have always kept a strict policy of reporting to high command.”

“Exactly.” Ahsoka said. “Whoever is in charge there, is the key to bringing down the empire’s largest munitions factory. However there is one problem.”

“What is it?” Rex asked, seeing no flaw in her plan. Blow up the weapons factory, give the emperor a major headache and make the galaxy see that the rebel alliance was still alive and bolder than ever.

Ahsoka sighed. She rolled up the map and put it on its case then crossed her arms. Her crew could see that there was something that was weighing heavily on her conscience.  
 _Just say it_. Every war had casualties but not every warrior had to choose cruelty as its main objective to wound its enemy. _There has to be another way._ But what way? They were running out of options. Against her morals, Ahsoka unfolded her arms and took out a holographic projector. It showed the planet’s various settlements.

“74 families for every one of the 122 settlements, every one imperial. Over a thousand people in each one, which if you do the math, brings a lot of collateral damage if we are successful.” The statistics were changed for an outline of the factories. Each one of them were also what made the planet inhabitable. “Take one, we risk everyone’s lives there.”

It finally weighed on them. None of them wanted innocent blood on their hands. Yet, what way was there? Like Ahsoka, they wished they were blissfully ignorant, but this was the path they had chosen. If it meant defeating the empire, then the ends would justify the means.  
What was a few dead if it meant delivering trillions from evil?

Nonetheless, one of them, could not help but ask if there was another way. Ahsoka wished she had the strength to lie but she was a honest to her core, so she told her the truth. “I am afraid there is no other way. We can opt not to do it and choose another mission. It doesn’t matter. The attack will still happen.” Mon would just send another team, less guilt-ridden and more committed to the cause regardless of the cost.

Ahsoka put it to a vote. It was the longest moment of her life. But it was better that they were the ones who did –if they voted ‘yes’- than someone else without a care in their hearts for the innocent lives that were about to be lost. In the end, all of them, slowly raised their hands.

 _There is no emotion, only peace_. Was the Jedi creed. _I am no Jedi, but she still followed the code. I have known war all my life, but I always fought with honor._ _The times I used trickery, it was with someone else in mind_. Protecting the weak, serving the public was all that mattered.  
If they won the war, she doubted future generations would write about the innocents who died as a result of these rebel attacks. _They will omit entirely from the record so the galaxy only remembers the good, and doesn’t see the ugliness of their freedom fighters._

There is no peace, she reminded herself. Steeling herself against the onslaught of guilt and uprooting all self-doubt, she addressed her platoon, “Rex, Wolf and I will go over the attack. With any luck, the defenses are still allocated in the Outer and Mid-Rim sectors which will mean that we won’t encounter a lot of opposition. Await my instructions. Stay low. I will contact you in two-days-time through your comlinks. If it is not the rebel code, don’t answer it. Voices can be imitated and if for whatever reason you think it is unsafe, come at this exact location. When I have finished giving you instructions, we will board my ship and depart for Balosar. Until then, you are dismissed.”

Everyone left except for Rex and Wolf. Rex placed a hand on her shoulder. “It is never easy. We will follow you till the end. This will not be your burden to bear.”

“Thanks Rex.” She said, smiling a sad smile at the former clone troopers.

**~o~**

**NABOO, THEED CITY  
Mid Rim Sector**

“I know what must be done.”

Han groaned. _First Drake, now Leia_. “Whatever it is, talk it with Luke. He’s crazy to follow that Jedi cock and bull plan or better yet, tell it Drake.”

“Drake? Han he is dying.”

Han bolted up in surprise. _So that is why he agreed to this suicide mission_. “How the hell did you get to know? Did you read his thoughts?”

Leia rolled her eyes. “It’s not Jedi mind tricks, I assure you. Any dim-witted scoundrel can see it for himself.”

“Who you’re calling scoundrel, your royal Highness?” He said, bowing his head to her in a mock manner. It was quickly replaced by a mischievous smile.

Her arms twined around his neck. “Stop it, you are not going to win me over with that one. I can wipe your memory clean without even trying. I am a Jedi, remember?”

“You are Leia Organa, Princess of Alderaan, Rebel leader. Headstrong, proud, upsart-“

“Is there a point to this?” Leia asked exasperated.

“You’ve grown too attached to this scruffy nerf-herder.” Han said, referring to himself in the third person. “Besides, if you had any intention of casting me aside, even if it was for my own safety, daddy dearest would have already gotten rid of me.”

“Do not joke about things like that, I mean it.” Leia said. Her seriousness was destroyed by his cocky grin. _Damn his smugness._ The two of them kissed and made love once more. The subject of Paul Drake and her plan were not brought up until they were done.

“So again, how is it you noticed that son of a blaster is on death’s door?” Was Han’s question followed by his other inquiry, “You have seen vision after vision and it gets you nowhere? How are you so certain you know what the Force is telling you?”

Leia explained her earlier suspicions about Drake and what the Force was trying to tell her about him through her visions. “It all makes sense now. I thought it was a tool to use and then something to let it manipulate me like Vader and then Luke, but now I see that it is neither. I mean, yes it is a tool but it can’t be used as such if I see it that way. It is like a game of chess. The best way to win is to let things happen around you, observe and learn and then when your opponent least expects it, use what you’ve learned against him.”

“So it is all one big deception then?”

“Basically.” Leia said.

“Can’t say that I am surprised. So how is it you are going to keep deceiving the midichlorians within you that you are their slave so that you keep using them and the Force for your gain.”

“The midichlorians together form the Force. Accepting and hearing them, is my fish net to lure them in. In every vision, I fought against it, tried to use it, or keep thinking of new ways to avoid that dark fate every time I saw it but when I stopped fighting, that is when I felt this surge of power. It is unlike anything I have ever felt, and things became clearer to me. I could see through the veil of time and space. Not just the past but various futures.”

“Alright, don’t get too excited. I believe you.” Han said, calming Leia down. He did not want all this new power to get to her head. “Why is Drake so important then?”

“I do not know all of the specifics but the Drake in my visions it is him but also not him.”

Han looked at her quizzically. _Gods damn all this Force nonsense_. “Okay, sweetheart you lost me there. Imagine I am Force ignorant, and elaborate to me. What the kriff do you mean by that?”

“There are bases at Jakku where Emperor Palpatine was experimenting with cloning. He was looking for wars to clone a Force sensitive. Vader was too but unfortunately all attempts have failed because the midichlorians are a direct connection to the living Force, the energy that holds the galaxy together.”

“Yeah, that part I got.” Han said, hoping this would not be a long sermon. Unfortunately it was.

“A clone of a Force sensitive will only last so long before he dies because the midichlorians leave him, causing his entire body to shut down. To the midichlorians who have resided in the original, forced to go back to an identical body is an abomination. It is like inhabiting a dead body. They do not recognize it. Suppose however that there was a way to perfect it.”

“Now we are getting to the good stuff.” Han said, thanking whatever god was out there that this explanation was going to be cut short.

Leia ignored his interruptions. She was too excited with what she learned to be bothered by his disbelief and frustrations. “R2 managed to patch in through some of the imperial archives a week ago when we were taken to Coruscant again.”

Han flinched at that. He did not want to be reminded of their last trip to the Imperial capital. Meeting with her daddy dearest again was one of the worst experiences in his life. He would have preferred if the dark lord of the Sith encased him in carbonite rather than have to dine with him face to face and hear him talk about all the rebels he had put down which included some of his old colleagues. That son of a bantha enjoyed it. Han wanted nothing more than shoot a blaster at him and see his shocked look as he was taken by a man he considered far beneath him.  
That moment would only be rivaled by Leia standing next to him, basking in the glory of having to watch her former capture, dark father and tormentor dead by his hand.

“What R2 has discovered is what I gave to Drake. He must have given it to Mon already. If they are lucky, when all this is over, the installations in Exegol will be destroyed.”

“I thought that hell hole was a myth.”

“It used to be known as Korriban. The name change was by one of the Siths after the first Sith Empire fell. Regardless of the name change, that is where Vader is doing his secret experiments and where he has learned of Palpatine’s master, Darth Plagueis technique to fool the midichlorians so that the cloning of a Force sensitive is successful.”

“Way to live forever. Your dad is never going to let go of his empire, will he?”

“Vader cares more about his legacy than the legacy of the Sith.” Leia responded, hiding that Vader did not want this cloning for himself but for his heirs. “Essence transfer has been tried by countless Siths and even some Jedi before the creation of the Sith for millennia but all of them have failed. But Vader found a way to do it.” Leia proceeded to tell him how Paul Drake factored in all of this.

“Let’s assume that he succeeds. Paul Drake is not Force Sensitive.” Han said, horrified by what was in store for his colleague. “Vader can sense one a mile away. Sure he failed with you, but he wasn’t emperor then. His vigilance has increased since then. If anything, he should try with his sister-in-law.”

“Vader doesn’t know about Sandra Weyland.”

“Are you certain about that? How do you know that Vader didn’t hire Drake knowing who he works for and this is all a trap?”

“Han, if my father knew that Drake was with the rebel alliance, he would have tortured him so he’d reveal his brother and his wife’s location. Trust me on this, he doesn’t know. The Force would have told me that.”

“Leia, I trust you.” He said, holding her hands in his. “It is the Force I cannot trust. All of this is too surreal for me and before you ask me if I do not believe, I do and that is what bothers me.”

Leia suddenly understood. Han was too proud to admit he was scared but one good look into his dark blue orbs revealed he was.

“Han, whatever comes our way, we will face it together. Forget the Force and just trust me. We have faced dangerous missions before and we have always survived because we trusted each other.”

She was so sure of herself, that it was hard to argue with her. Yet Han would not let it go. It wasn’t just the Force he did not trust, it was her entire plan. If he died, that was fine. He was prepared to die since he was an orphan fighting for survival on the streets of Corellia but Leia was another matter. He could not bother to lose her.

“Leia, before you go and risk your father’s wrath, consider this. Talk to Luke, tell him what you told me. The three of us can help bring down the empire and rescue your half-sister as well. This is not a two-people job, this is all of us. We are all in this together.”

“It’s not like that anymore. The plan has changed.”

“No, it has not. Luke made that killing shot that blew up the death star. Before that, nobody thought that the empire could be beaten. If it wasn’t for his belief in the Force, your leadership and my saving his ass, that wouldn’t have happened.”

“Han, you are asking me the impossible. You saw Luke. He is close to falling to the dark side.”

“Then be there before he takes the final step. Do not let your father win Leia. Be his guardian angel.”

Leia had never Han speak so passionately. Leia nodded her head and told him that she’d try. Han wasn’t content with that. He did not want her to try, he wanted her to pull him out of the void if worst came to pass.

“This is not about trying anymore, Leia. It is about doing what we did before. We made the impossible, possible. Force or no Force, we can do that because we have the will to do it. So have the will and save your brother.”

Leia promised she will, although deep down she doubted she’d be successful. But her words were enough for Han.

After a while, Han asked her to tell him again how she had discovered about Drake. That part still eluded him.

“When he was communicating through a secret channel on his comm link to the rebels, I saw him drop a vial. It was a bright orange liquid. It recognized it immediately as Saphir Juice. It has a bit of spice in it, but diluted with other rare properties from the nectar obtained from the Saphir flowers of Felucia. It’s drank by those who are very sick.”

“How long does he have?”

Leia shrugged. “Months, maybe a year at most. He did not look bothered when I discovered it. He told me that he wanted to go down knowing he did one good deed that his brother would be proud of. He knew I would tell you so he also told me to tell you that if we break free of this, to tell his friend Perry that he wishes he could be there when he becomes a lawyer and that he is only sorry he won’t be working alongside him as his private investigator like they’d always dream since they were kids.”

Han felt a pang in his chest at hearing this. The two were as thick of thieves. _Why do I always have to be the one to be stuck in the middle of these things? Why couldn’t Drake give this request to someone else?_ Perry was a hardened man who wouldn’t take the news too kindly. Coming from Han, he’d take it even less kindly _. Sorry buddy, I am not the one who decided to play martyr_. At least Mason would have good memories of him and Drake together. All Han of his so called friends before he met Luke and Leia was treachery and disappointment.

“Does he know he is Force Sensitive?”

“No, but you were right that my father does know. Otherwise he would not have hired him. That is why I do not think my father knows of his involvement with the rebels. Otherwise he would have gone after his sister-in-law since she is far stronger than he is. Drake is all he has right now since he is not willing to sacrifice his own flesh and blood unless he has good results.”

Leia had a good point there. Vader would not harm a hair in his offspring’s body unless he was certain it would not kill them. _Sick bastard._  
“So Drake volunteered for nothing.”

Leia said nothing.

“This is all kriffed up. He should be back at Coruscant helping Mason, enjoying his time with Alan and Sandra. You live, you do what you can in this life and if you lose, you lose and that is it. Being used that way, living through malformed bodies is not living.”

There was a stiffening silence until Han broke it. “Have you told him of your visions?” Leia nodded. “And?”

“He doesn’t care.” Leia said truthfully, hiding her melancholy. He had shown himself very despondent to her, telling her that if the Force was as wise as he was a realist, it would kill him so the secret of life and death would not fall into Sith hands.

“I do not think it matters at this point. Vader must have his DNA. If he doesn't, he is going to wait until he dies to collect it so the clone remembers everything before he tries the essence transfer.”

It still wasn’t fair. Han resolved to have a talk with Drake and knock some sense into his thick skull. Unfortunately on the following morning, Drake was nowhere to be found.


	13. Insane Asylum

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I am playing fast and loose with old and new canon (aka Legends/Extended Universe and Disney canon respectively).

_"We do what we don't like when there is a greater good to be served. You more than everyone should know that." ~Perry Mason (2020) trailer_

**CORUSCANT, IMPERIAL CAPITAL  
CORE SYSTEM**

**Luke Skywalker used to be afraid until one day he wasn’t.** Standing in front of him was his first test. If he passed it with flying colors, he’d take his place as his father’s heir.

He’d been haunted by dreams of his sister standing where she was, forced to choose between him and Han. It was not a future he wished on everyone, not even his worst enemy which included their father.

Paul Drake gave a knowing smile to Luke. He knew his part to play in this sick game. He harbored no ill will towards the Skywalkers, much less Luke. He had never met him before but always admired his exploits.

Paul’s last words where to strike him fast. Luke did just that. His hands did not tremble. Neither did he hesitate. In two seconds, the man that was Paul Drake was gone. What happened after that, nobody knew except for the emperor and his son. Paul’s death went unnoticed by the imperial court. It was announced to his family, but no big deal was made of it to the rest of the galaxy for whom Paul Drake was just another statistic.

The rebellion however did mourn him, but not to the extent they would have if he had been successful in his mission. Paul had failed, and that could only mean that the rebel alliance had no option but to be bolder and more direct. Who cared what the human and alien cost was, if it meant they could win?

Ahsoka sent Qi’ra to Han Solo who along with Leia was sent to Coruscant. There, his old flame helped him deliver a message in person to Paul Drake’s friend. Under the guise of applying for a new job as an imperial statesman, he came to the imperial palace where afterwards he found himself alone with Solo and Qi’ra in an empty room.

Han told Mason, Drake’s message. Everything he thought Perry would say, he did.

“Fucking son of a bitch. Paul struck out when he was twelve, a year older than me, because he was more observant than everyone else. I was a carefree child until Paul rescued me from a band of ruffians who just wanted to find two helpless kids to beat up, for the fun of it. He was always the first to find out things and the last to get in trouble but when he did get himself in a hot mess, it was because of me. Why did he tell you of all people he was dying?”

“Listen Mason, I don’t have all the answers. He did not even know he was Force sensitive until Leia told him. He was dying, that is all I can come up with why he did not give two flying kriffs in the end about his own mortality. The only certainty I can give you is that he believed in the rebel cause. So if you want to be angry at anyone, be angry at the rebels. Your friend risked his life because he did not want you to remember him as anything other than what he was to you.”

“God damn you Solo, you are right.” Perry marveled at the former smuggler. He was a cynical bastard in the eyes of many, including his closest colleagues in the rebel alliance, but to everyone with a working brain, he made more sense than any of them.

 _You and your cocky attitude and stupid bravado might yet survive us all_. It wasn’t fair. Paul was the realist, the cautionary man. _If anyone ought to have survived, it should have been him_.

“At least tell me this, Solo. After Vader succeeds in his sickly plan, is he going to let Paul rest in peace as God intended?” Perry did not believe in God. He stopped believing after his mother died, and he had seen how quickly every faith’s cleric had sold their soul their flock to the devil in exchange of keeping their riches. His friend had also become disappointed in religion but unlike Perry, he hadn’t lost his faith in God. It was for his sake, that Perry would say a prayer to him, humble himself before the ungrateful almighty god in the hopes he would grant him his wish.

_For Paul’s sake. He deserves it; you owe it to him. He became your martyr, the least you can do is show him mercy._

Han disappointed Perry, saving him from a night’s humiliation. He detailed to Mason why he was not afraid of the end. “Paul believed there is an order to everything and for the good of me, I thought he was crazy as the kid –Luke” he corrected himself immediately. After Paul’s death, he could not see Luke as anything other than what he had become, the Emperor’s scion. “That we all have this mysterious Force surrounding us, binding us together, guiding our every move but everything is true.”

“Yet you still disbelieve.”

“That’s the saddest thing of all this ordeal. After everything I have witnessed, and I witnessed hell of a lot before all of this began, I’ve become a believer. It scares me more than you think.”

“Not me.” Mason said and the expression on his face told Han he was telling the truth. “Paul crossed the line and whatever comes after this, will not be Paul.”

“Mason, I wish I still had your skepticism. Unfortunately for the both of us, I cannot un-see what I have seen. Vader is going to succeed and when he does, he’ll be virtually unstoppable unless the rebels get everyone to rally behind them. The Force is all-powerful but it is not magic. The strongest of wills can overpower its strongest agents, including its chosen one.”

“You play the game your own way, so do I.” Were the last words that Mason told him, leaving him with nothing but his own thoughts.

It was easy for Mason to break the rules, although the man was far too self-righteous to admit it because in the back of his mind, there was his subconscious telling him that he was doing everything righ. Paul was the one who kept him in check. With him gone, Perry was free to do as he pleased.

“He is not going to go too far.” Qi’ra’s words offered him no comfort. Perry was going to break every rule in the rule book to get away with everything and get whatever he was after. Paul Drake’s death was on Paul’s family, the rebels, the empire and on Han as well, so there was no more reason to hold back.

“It is going to be his life’s crusade. Others are going to die to bring down the empire, he is going to drive a slow knife into their gut until there is nothing but a slow death awaiting them. I know Qi’ra, I have met men like him.”

“So have I.” Qi’ra reminded him. “And they all fall on their own weight. No one can fool the higher-ups for so long. Their day of reckoning comes for them sooner rather than later.”

 _If only._ Mason was not going to rest. He did not know how, but for a son of a bantha like Mason, he was going to get away with his schemes until there was nothing but a trail of misery behind him and he had nothing but a clean conscience with no sense of guilt or repentance.

 _Damn this war._ And damn the all the Skywalkers and him as well for getting involved with that kriffin lot. _I should have walked away when I had the chance._

* * *

**Jakku  
Near the Unkonwn Regions**

Between life and death there was a void. Those who were not Force sensitive became part of the Force, unable to retain their consciousness. Recent studies showed the contrary. But other things were unchangeable such as cloning Force sensitives and transferring someone’s essence into a new body, even if that body was a perfect copy of the original.

All attempts to clone Jedi had failed. But that was because they had been well trained Force sensitives who had formed a strong relationship with the Force, making it impossible to return from the death since their essence had become one with the Force. As such, returning them to new bodies, would be like willing the midichlorians into a new body. Even if they succeed in the latter, the body would not last longer than two years since they needed the person’s essence for the clone body to last.

One of the former directors of the Kaminoan facilities from the time of the old Republic was the director of this new cloning facility.

“I cannot promise you success, Sarbu but this third attempt is far more promising.” His half Twi’lek, half human assistant, Sol Ramos said.

“That is what you swore last time. The emperor is getting impatient and so am I. If this doesn’t work, we will be on the chopping block and I do not know about you, but I am tired of having to play the cowering fool to His Imperial Highness.”

“Do not be beside yourself with worry, Sarbu. I guarantee you: this time it will be different.”

Sarmu was skeptical but he had no choice but to trust her. Trust comes cheap these days. Just about anybody promises you the best for the right price and in this day, the right price means not being killed.

“Let’s see to it then.” Sarmu said. The two lead scientists got to work. To Sarmu’s relief, it worked.

The man was brought back from the dead. He was weak and in a daze and in great pain but as soon as Vader arrived and willed the midichlorians from the cells of his original body they had used to clone him, the pain subsided.

Through his Jedi and Sith training Vader had come to realize that for a clone to be fully the same as the original, the memories hidden deep within his psyche had to be trigger so he searched deep within Paul’s mind for a painful memory. He did not have many, so he chose the one he thought would do the most effect. That did the trick.

The clone was still not Paul. The essence transfer had not been a success, but for the time being that did not matter since the midichlorians seemed to be responding well to this new body.

Paul’s clone had an idea of who he was. He remembered things, felt things the original felt but the memories he inherited did not feel his own.

He spent every day questioning his own reality. The name Paul Drake did not sound natural, or even human and he was human. That much was clear. But he always felt like something was missing.

**~o~**

Out of morbid curiosity Vader talked with Kitty regarding the next stage in his plan. Kitty was surprised he was being so open to her, here of all places with her brothers present. Rarely, he was this direct. But what option does he have when the rebels are getting bolder.

First Chandrila then Castilon and then those settlements in Balosar. All those poor families. Kitty rarely let others see her cry in public but this was something she could not keep in. Vader told her she had to be strong. The HoloNet was their propaganda machine and now more than ever, they needed to project an air of majesty. But Kitty could not do it. Just imagining all those families, dying from the toxic fumes after the main generator had been destroyed in that factory explosion, prompting the atmosphere to return to its natural state, gave her nightmares.

Kitty understood that there needed to be sacrifices. She was not above using dirty tricks to get what she wanted but this was beyond dirty.

Before she could voice her horrors, her older brother Charles, Grand Moff and Governor of Chandrila commended Vader but cautioned him. “The crown prince earned his title. He understands that his position is an obligation and it carries with it responsibilities. It is not a right freely given and as such, it is recommendable that he takes small steps before he fully embraces his destiny.”

“I do not need pointers regarding the destiny of my offspring, Grand Moff Howard but your advice is duly noted. Lord Henry Howard, you have visited the crudest sectors of your home planet. In all your visits, what have you discovered is the best method to make believers out of unbelievers?”

“Simply, my lord. Remind them of the good that the empire has done for the galaxy by giving this lost soul a walk through history. Before the empire, all power concentrated on one region. Core worlds basked in their privilege while the rest of the galaxy remained unforgotten. The Jedi were there to dissimulate and keep up appearances. For the first time, there is an entire system spreading law and order across all sectors, punishing poor and rich alike and advancing the quality of life by keeping the spaceways safe, maintaining open and accessible communications and creating new jobs to where there was none.” Kitty’s second older brother said. Out of her three brothers, he was the one who looked less like a Howard and more like their maternal Culpeper relatives. Brown hair and green eyes instead of strawberry blond hair and sky blue eyes. “If that is not enough, show them their latest _sin_ and remind them that it is too late now to take a step back.”

“No truer words could have spoken,” Vader said, his gleeful smile commending Henry Howard. He was less aggressive than his older and younger brothers, but like his sister, his good judgment of character made him more political wise. “We have to prepare Luke for his happy reunion with Drake. If that doesn’t elicit a reaction from him, then we will know that he is not Drake but at least it will not be a complete failure.”

After their brothers had gone, Kitty asked him if it was better that they wait until Paul was better educated about his past. “You want to delay my son. Pity, I thought you had more faith in me.”

“I have faith in you, love. It is Luke who I fear for. It has been hard on him taking Drake out. I am not strong in the Force, I don’t have your gifts but I can see how much it’s taking a toll on him. Give him other tasks, let him get acclimated to imperial society. Courtiers have not seen enough of him. They need to get to know your heir now that you’ve made it official that he is your heir.” Kitty said, trying to convince him but it was to no avail.

Just as she was determined to avoid Luke a trauma that could end with him being lured back into the side of the rebels, so was Vader to ensure that everything that the light in Luke was completely extinguished.

“There have to be other ways.” She argued but once again Vader dismissed her worries, telling her that this was the surest way to know if the Force was on their side. It was sink or swim.

“How can you be so certain that Luke will resist the pull of the light side? He is the chosen one’s son but he is still human and you should know by now how not all humans are made the same, including Force-sensitives. We are unpredictable creatures and Luke has been raised to know only one of the two truths: there is good and evil and the Sith are the latter.”

“My love, you forget that I once thought the same. The more naïve you are, the more disappointed you become. Before he died, Palpatine said he saw Luke embracing his father’s dark destiny. For better and for worse, Luke is going to have to either face his destiny or keep denying it and end in a path of self-destruction.”

Kitty prayed that he was right. Because if he was not, then it would not only be Luke’s future which would be at stake but all of their futures and Kitty would rather walk barefoot on the streets of Padme Amidala Naberrie’s homeworld than see her family vanquished because of this one miscalculation.

* * *

**Coruscant**

Mason had many ways to show his gratitude which did not include endlessly repeating ‘thank you’ to the point of sounding like a hypocrite. The help he had received from Alan Drake and Sandra Weyland was returned in kind. Perry’s first case was gathering evidence that exonerated one of their own, clearing his name and taking him out of the empire’s black lists.

But Perry did not stop there. Instead of handing all the evidence he had gathered to the imperial legal services, he made copies and kept them in an old fashioned vault.

Sandra offered herself as his secretary but Perry told her it was best if she remained with Alan. Alan visited him a week after he was going over new case files. “What’s new Drake?”

“Paul had a droll sense of humor. He said he preferred to be a burly leg man than grow up to be like our father.” Alan chuckled. His dark orbs avoided Perry’s icy blue eyes. It baffled him how this man could still keep this stoic demeanor.  
Alan spent nearly a month decrying his brother’s death, swearing that if he ever came face to face with Luke Skywalker, he’d bring him to his knees and make him beg for life. That had created a rift between him and his fellow rebels. To hell with those who thought that the Skywalker twins could still be saved.  
Every one of Vader’s offspring deserved to die.  
When they were little, Paul did not need to be looked after. Their father was a hard man, but they were far too clever for their own good, to avoid more spankings than they would have received if they’d had a passive nature. Their father’s first love had been a Muslim woman from the kingdom of Ndongo. His father loved to brag that he had belonged to an ancient warlord race from before the times of their lord and savior, Jesus Christ. “ _Our blood is of the dragon.”_ So he said. Hence their last name ‘Drake’. But there was no way to prove it other than his ramblings.  
Alan’s mother on the other hand did boast of royalty. Her mother was a Moorish noble and her father a converted Christian who had served in the Portuguese court before it was destroyed by imperial officials. The first five years of his life, Alan enjoyed an idyllic childhood until his mother died. Heartbroken, Marcus Blake fell into a dark depression which he never recovered from. Alan prayed the Christian and Muslim way that his father would find someone to eliminate his sadness. When Paul’s mother came into the scene, Alan thought his prayers were answered. He could not have been more wrong.  
Paul’s mother was not the confident, assertive woman Alan’s mother had been. She was a poor woman who was thirty-two years old. Fat, sad and with traces of the beauty she had once enjoyed. She was looking for someone to get married and Drake Sr. was too depressed that he became an easy target for her. The marriage was a disaster from day on. Although Caroline Valverde loved Alan and tried to make things work, she was too troubled herself to set things in order. It was up to Alan to be the man of the house. When his brother came, his responsibilities increased ten-fold. Not only had his father turned into a lousy drunk and his stepmother was a sad wench, her family was more messed up than the two combined. And then there were her friends! Good God those people loved mocking all of them. Lots of nice words and fake smiles but no actual help.  
Alan’s struggle for survival became harder after his little brother entered the picture. Caroline proved unfit to be a mother so once again it was up to Alan to take matters into his own hands, and watch over his brother. Although the two looked very different, Alan felt a strong connection to him. One day, after his second birthday, Alan found Caroline in the rocking chair in the nursery. She looked sadder than usual. Cutting through the pleasantries, Caroline told him to watch over his brother and always remember him for the good man he was. Alan thought this was another one of her nonsense drabbles. She had become more enigmatic since Paul was born but less than a week later, his stepmother had fallen ill and died. Their father did not last long after that. Refusing any of his stepmother’s friends’ helps and condolences, Alan took his little brother away and the two made it on their own until they were older and ready to go their own way.  
“Paul was always ready to upstage others as long as it didn’t gain him too much notoriety that it got too big for him to handle. He was insufferably cautious. Only now it has started to click on me that he suffered the same illness as his crazy mother.”

“The Force is not an illness, the Skywalkers on the other hand are a plague.” Perry said sitting down in the new chair behind his desk.

“Whatever you do, if the rebels win or lose, hurt them. Whatever way you can. Make them suffer until they know what it feels like to lose what they love.”

Perry did not need to give his best friend’s brother empty promises. He was Perry Mason after all. The right man for the job. The Skywalkers loved power and the surest way to hurt them was by foiling their plans from the ground up.

One week after Alan’s visit, Perry received word from one of his contacts that the emperor and his son were making a secret trip to the outer rim. That can only mean Jakku, or the other laboratory rumored in the unknown regions. Which meant they were going to see the reanimated Paul.

Perry chided himself for thinking of that thing as his friend. _It is not. Paul died two months ago. Whatever that thing is, it is a fucking construct._ Yet that fucking construct was still flesh and blood and it was cruel that it was being kept in a golden cage like a pet. For everyone’s sake, he hoped that after the emperor and his son’s visit, they’d get rid of it.

**~o~**

Unfortunately, nine days after the emperor and the crown prince’s visit, Paul Drake remained alive. The hairs on his arms were raised whenever Luke Skywalker came to see him. Also, him pressing him for some long lost memory of when the two of them met, sent chills down his spine.

He asked Luke several times why was that? Does he know who I am? How I died? It made no sense if he did but refused to tell him. He had terrible migraines every time he tried to connect the dots. The voices in his head and his insomnia made it difficult for him to concentrate. Something was blocking his mind and that something was preventing him from finding out the truth about his murder. He was desperate. If he didn’t remember then what was the point of this _second chance_? He kept pressing the Emperor to aid him until Vader offered him an irresistible offer.

Without thinking, Paul got down on his knees, grabbed the dark lord of the Sith’s hand in both his and thanked him.

It was sickly touching. This adult clone of Paul Drake was nothing but a mere child. Naïve and curious about the galaxy he’d never see. _What a waste of genetic material. And good riddance_. If he had exhibited any malice otherwise known as free will, then he would feel bad about his termination.

* * *

**Jakku**

"Luke, may I enter?" Luke nodded. "Is something the matter?"

"No, why do you ask?" Luke no longer wondered about the whys of Kitty visit. Force only knew why his stepmother did anything. Nonetheless, it was polite to ask since as much as it bothered him, his father loved her deeply. How quickly he forgets the woman who sacrificed everything, including her own life, for him.

Even when he was Vader, he was a lousy husband to Padme Amidala. Neither of them deserved each other. His mother was an exceptional woman while Luke's father was a wretched fool who was sick with the poor-me syndrome, thinking the universe owed him everything simply because he was the chosen one.

Poor Luke. He was a handsome young man like his father but he still had a lot of his mother in him. Kitty meant it when she told her brother that she was going to do everything to protect her family -even if she lost her soul in the process.

"You are going to see Paul Drake today. You must know by now that he has many friends. There is a reason why your father chose him for cloning. The cloning facilities will be terminated shortly after." That was it, Kitty revealed everything. It was a roll of her tongue but she didn't want to go around in circles anymore. The more direct she was, the better.

"Why? What comfort will that give the spirits of Sith long gone?"

"The dead are dead for a reason, Luke. Your father told me before he refunded these facilities that the Sith believed that the best way to transfer their essence was to a body compatible to theirs. There is a reason why they did not try cloning. If it worked, they would have gone ahead with this during the time of their order's creation when the Rataka civilization still existed."

"So this is just another one of my father's test, to test my loyalty." Luke concluded.

"Yes. But it is also to show you how dangerous this would be if it were true."

"What is he going to do with Drake's clone after all this is over?" He already knew but since he was never going to hear from the horse's mouth, he needed to hear it from the person who knew him best. 

Luke sighed, feeling sad after Kitty confirmed his worst fears. Paul Drake doesn't deserve this. "He never intended to bring back Paul Drake from the dead, did he?" Kitty said nothing. She did not have to. Her face said it all. "Wherever he is, I hope he is praying." Luke said in a low voice, so low his stepmother did not hear. P _ray for the living Paul Drake because we are still stuck in this insane asylum._

"Let me do it. If you can, tell my father that I want to do it. No cameras, no him present."

"That is not going to be possible."

"You can do it." Luke said, his face as serious as his tone. The boy who would have preached and hoped to see the best in people was gone. When he killed Paul Drake, a part of him had died as well, now she was sure that it was fully gone. "He trusted me to do this task, he would not have done it if he doubts me. If however he doubts me, then he doubts himself as well. I killed Paul Drake, I will kill his clone as well and bring his body to my father's feet for him and everyone else to see."

Kitty noded, fully at ease that she had done what she had set out to do. "So be it then. I shall speak to your father. Be prepared for when he calls you." She said then left.

**~o~**

Paul ate like a pig. He remembered those animals and when he was a little boy racing after his brother in a desert field in Tatooine. It was one of the many planets he took him as a promise to show him the entire galaxy.

My brother. Although not his brother, Paul still wanted to meet him. He remembered every facial structure of his, and every last word he said before they took different paths. They were as night and day, but still the best of friends. Their blood was thicker than water. In a sketchbook, he drew the two of them. The water colors helped him add the last touches. Behind them was so much green that it nearly left him blind.

Paul laughed. His laughter made the guards look at him oddly. "I am sorry, I remembered something. Tell me, have you been to Takkodana?" All three of them shook their heads. "My brother took me there. There he met a young girl by the name of Rita Parnell. She was from Earth like us but she and her parents left after the empire." Paul showed them a sketch he made of her. It showed an dark skinned girl with amber colored eyes and curly black hair. "My brother told me not to get involved with anyone unless it was serious. That is where I became good friends with Perry." The one of his voice dropped low as he revisited that memory.

He flipped the page. It showed a sketch of Perry Mason. It was near the end of the book. It was the first sketch he made. It was the two of them on the first time they got onboard a ship. It was the Ghost Crew, before Paul and Perry bailed out on them and decided to pursue a life of piracy. It was not an enviable life but it felt free and in the end, that was all that mattered.

 _Free ..._ Paul chuckled again. The guards looked at one another then shook their heads. Lord Vader was right. This clone was as useless as a bounty hunter droid. They couldn't wait until Vader came and disposed of him.

There was a noice outside which made Paul perk his head up. "Lord Vader" Paul said, up before the emperor came in. Except, much to his disappointment it was his on. "Your Highness." He began but Luke held a hand up, interrupting him.

"It is your Imperial Highness for you, clone."

Luke's cruel tone took Paul aback. He blinked in bafflement at the young man's coldness. He looks no older than me. What happened to make him so cold? Yet Paul showed no fear. He had Vader's protection and from what he could tell from when he met Vader, he was a man of his word.

Vader had no reason to lie. A man that powerful would not risk his honor.

"I am sorry Your Imperial Highness. How can I help you?"

"You can't. My father made you a promise." Paul gave Luke an open smile. Poor wretch. Damn his father for reducing this clone to a state of childishness. The real Paul Drake would have stood his ground, and not let himself get bullied by anyone. "Tell me what was it exactly that he promised you."

"He did not tell you? He told me that he'd tell you and his wife after he took off and searched for my brother and his wife. Has he not gone off world yet?"

"No."

"When will he go? Forgive me, my lord prince but I need him to retrieve them as soon as possible. They are in grave danger. When they see me, they can help the empire and help your father achieve peace and show mercy to others who have been deceived by the rebellion like they have."

"Just stop your simpering, Mr. Drake. It is unbecoming of you. Do you think if Vader intended to do good on his promises that he would have let you humiliate yourself like a slave pleading to a cruel master?" Luke snapped. 

"But he promised."

Luke coldly laughed and mocked him, imitating his docile tone. "Wake up. Search your memories, look deep into your psyche or I will do it for you and I can guarantee, I won't be so gentle."

Paul did. By his disappointed expression, Luke knew that he did not like what he found. "The empire that my father will give me will be one free of superstition and slavery to old ideals that gave people false hope, made them live longer so they could be the living source of entertainment of an unforgiving Force and a bunch of obligarchs. The only way to stop that vicious cycle is to break it. And for that to happen, there needs to be a strong hand with the iron will not to bent at the violent wind of populist leaders."

"But you are Luke Skywalker. You and the Princess Leia led the rebellion."

"My sister led the rebellion, not I. She and Mon Mothma plotted courses, Han was our liaison with the underworld and I was just a pilot. A patriotic ornament." Luke said with deep distaste. "I was happy to be part of something special but I was just another tool." His lightsaber floated out of his belt and landed in his right hand. 

Paul accepted his fate. For once, his childish nature was replaced by the silent resignation of the original. If this was how he was going to go, he was going to go down on his two feet, showing no fear and having no regret.

* * *

**Coruscant**

Persephone hooked R2 back to her translator. She asked the droid why she was so eager to be human. R2 told her that there was something about humans that she didn't quite understand yet but she wanted to. **"The best way to understand someone is by getting under their skin. It is a human expression that I am aware means something that differenat than I what I am conveying but nonetheless the principle of it applies."**

"I do not think it does. Does Luke speak to you or my father?"

 **"No. He is acting like Anakin did after he became dark lord of the Sith. History always repeats itself in dynasties of evil.** " R2 said then made a pause. **"Did I upset you?"** The droid moved it is dome half way, almost as if to imitate a human when tilting her head, to gain the attention of the other person.

"My father is not an evil man. I hate everyone thinking he is."

**"You are the imperial princess. People always spread rumors and speak terrible things about their leaders? It costs more to respond and trying to please the entire world than remaining silent. Let people say what they will, eventually they will get tired of their choleric nature."**

"You have a lot more to learn about humans, R2." Persephone said. When R2 asked her something else, Persephone said she was tired and would not ask any more of the droid's questions. She disconnected the translator and went to her room, the astromech followed her and kept beeping until it grew tired too and left her alone with her own silences.

 _If there is one things we humans love more than having someone to love, is our anger._ She could have told R2 that but she really was tired of having to talk with the astromech droid. R2 felt betrayed by Luke's embrace of the dark side but the droid was a machine. It did not know of the sacrifices that the Skywalkers have to make on behalf of the galaxy.

* * *

Vader was pleased with his wife. Kitty set out to do what she said she would. There were many who thought that they could get the best of them, most of them ended dead while the few who were spared were either lobotomized and turned into idle servants or put in a psychiatric institution. Kitty was the only one who was allowed to think herself smarter than him because as obnoxious as she was -and she could be quite obnoxious- she always put their mutual interests first.

The death of Paul Drake's clone was no tragedy. The succesfful cloning broadened his horizons and opened the door to a possibility he had been entertaining since he was Palpatine's enforcer. Essence transfer was a waste of time, so was trying to create an exact replica of a Force sensitive. Drake's third clone had shown them that it was possible to trick the midichlorians, but since the clone had his memories triggered, he would have undoubtedly died slowly and painfully if Luke didn't destroy him. 

Before the rise of the Sith and the Jedi, there were countless civilizations that engaged in heresy, two of them were the Gree and the Rataka. The forbidden archives he had retrieved from the Jedi temple, now the imperial palace, and Palpatine's database showed that their manipulation of the Force and understanding of genetic engineering is what made the Celestials quiver with fear.

Had they been less arrogant, they would have united and ended the Celestials before their dominance over the galaxy began. The Celestials considered themselves God. After their disappearance, all that remained were the Father, Sister and the Brother whom Vader, when he was Anakin, Obi Wan and Ahsoka encountered on Mortis. After his encounter, he still believed in the awesome power of the Force, seeing it as a benevolent and mysterious entity that ruled over all creatures with the intent of keeping all things balance. Now he knew better.

The midichlorians were parasites. Powerful parasites that lived in simbiosis with most strong Force sensitives, but parasites nonetheless. 

Master Yoda could not bring them to heel, the few Sith who could, the midichlorians quickly manipulated other strong Force sensitives to end them before they figured the secret to their destruction. Anakin Skywalker had been too weak to accept the burden of ending this madness. Vader however, felt no qualms of doing what was necessary to bring true balance to the galaxy.

Vader took off his glove. He could have accepted a skin job. Synthetic skin over a new robot arm. But this was the only thing from his past that he wanted to remain as a reminder of the past he had left behind, and the mistakes he made.

"Anakin Skywalker was weak. He needed to die for the true 'me' to resurface." Vader smiled sadistically remembering when he was told of the rebels' attack at Balosar. It was a painful loss but not a humiliating one because it told him that not only had this war wiped out all traces of his old self, it also made Ahsoka take off the blindfold from her eyes and see the galaxy for the cold, hard place it truly was. "There is a part of Ahsoka that will always cling to old morals but the harder she is pushed, the quicker she will come to the conclusion that there are no boundaries when it comes to war."

He put on his glove again. One down, another one to go. Leia was stronger than Luke, the two of them would be the black sons to destroy the rebellion once and for all. And with his youngest daughter taking care of R2 on his behalf (without her knowing it), it was only a matter of time before everything fell into place. Luke's second test had also convinced him that the visions he'd had were a trickery of the Force. Whatever the future brought, it would be no match for the Skywalkers.


	14. Pawns

_"We pass like a fleeting show and I was left with shame and with consequence." ~Luke Skywalker from Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi (2017)_

**~o~**

**27th Imperial Galactic Year  
Earth Year: 1573**

**Chandrila**

“We pass down all we know … No one is ever really gone.” Luke closed his eyes then opened them again. No matter what point in time he chose, at the end of his journey, he always found himself in the same location, staring at a pathetic version of himself looking down at his feet, pondering on all his failures.

That man seemed to know he was there. This felt like the last time the two of them would talk before that man’s inevitable end. “Of course, there is always a bigger fish. We cannot change who we are. You know who said that?”

“Mara Jade. In another life. She was right. In denying the Force you’ve made it bleed, and caused the entire galaxy to fall into disarray while he believed that there was a way to let the wounds of the Yuuzhan Vong heal naturally without imposing a violent order.”

“You are somewhere in between.” The old, shabby Luke laughed, a sad laugh followed by a long tired sigh. “Fence sitting never helped anyone. I tried it and look where it led me. The other one tried it as well but the death of Mara drove him to near insanity. Perhaps it is the destiny of all Skywalkers to end pawns of the dark side.”

“Perhaps but tell me if you were to be a pawn, isn’t it better to be on the side of the winners than the losers?”

“Are you telling me that or are you saying it because you still fear that Vader’s powers are greater than he boasts? He is not all powerful, you know. He has his weaknesses.”

“Sure he does.” Luke said. He half reclined in the rock next to his alternate self. “Leia is the key but every time, she reproaches me for putting the weight of the galaxy in her shoulders. The other Luke should have done that and so should you, if you weren’t so mopey.”

“Is that an earth word? I am not familiar with it.”

“It means sad, worse than being a recluse. You have given up on life and your legacy.” Luke explained.

“I guess I could train Rey. Show her the ways of the Force and hope against all hope as we used to say before we went to Vespin, that she will strike Ren down and afterwards, unite all Force users under a New –better equipped- Jedi Order.”

“If the Yuuzhan Vong don’t come to our galaxy.”

Luke him a sad smile. “You better than anyone, know that they will come and when they do, it will be winners take all. It must be or else a new empire will rise from which there is no escape because there will be no Skywalker or Solo to bring it down.”

That was a terrifying notion to his older alternate self. The vision was about to end. Both sensed it, so their parting gifts to one another was the exchange of knowledge of their lived experiences. It pushed the older alternate Luke to train Rey and do a last act of sacrifice that would ensure that the galaxy would be prepared for when the real threat came. Whereas the other Luke, gained awareness he never thought possible. So many other futures. Not just the two he had previously witnessed and this he had interacted with but million others. And in each of them, he saw that there was only course of action to end the perpetual enslavement of humanity to the parasitic Force and the extinction of other races.

 _But why is the Force letting me see this?_ It was not a trap. Luke would know if it was. The truth hit Luke hard as he saw glimpses of a possible future. It is not the Force, it is those that have severed their connection to it, aided by those who still do but have tamed it. _They are telling me what to do_.

I see now. I see everything. Or so Luke thought. The place where many Jedi and Sith dreaded is known to a few. Of those, only two had been there. Unfortunately his sister was afraid of what it’d do to her. She had successfully turned the parasitic Force into her allies, but did not dare to go through that forbidden space.

 _Trust yourself Leia._ Luke was going to use more of his stepmother’s deceptive techniques to bring about this golden world. He was going to use fear, which would bring forth desperation, bleakness which would be a slow knife that would destroy her from the inside, out. And in doing so, she’d be free of all doubts and worries.

* * *

**Coruscant**

“You do not have to visit him.” Qi’ra told Han. She looked better disguised as a chamber maid than a higher servant. Leia wasn’t all too happy seeing her, but she was wise. Whenever she was around, she kept her emotions in check so her father would not sense something was amiss. “Lando and Alan will deal with the situation.”

“I hope not. Perry is not going to listen to them.”

“He will when they make him think of Paul. Alan will be there for his daily reproach.”

“They are going to fail. Paul is dead unless he is kept alive in Perry’s memory, right?”

“Right.”

“You said before you left, all those years ago, that I was the good guy. I am not but I am the one with the most common sense. Perry is going to listen to someone who did not know his friend but knows of his pain, and doesn’t have anything to lose. Someone who gains nothing nor loses anything in telling him the obvious.”

“And that person is you.” Qi’ra finished for him. “I hope you are right because the man has more on his plate than he can handle. The last thing he needs is two meddling smugglers like ourselves.”

**~o~**

Leia overheard everything that Han and his past _sweetheart_ had spoken at the dead of night. Seeing her broke her concentration. She pushed away all her anger, compressing it into a neat little space deep within her soul, and replaced it with pleasant memories. But that had not worked so rather than pushing it away, Leia simply let it in. The fact that she did, made her calmer because she no longer had to fight it. That made her feelings go unnoticed by her father who would have expected a different response from his eldest daughter, who was too proud to admit she was jealous of someone beneath her.

 _It did me much good … until now._ Every negative emotion was used to cleanse her from all her worries, letting it pass through her until her uncaringness for it made it disappear. That is what it means to be at peace. The Jedi were wrong to suppress emotions _. Letting all of them in, without being controlled by them, can allow us to grow and rule over them, achieving that state of bliss_.  
But now she found herself regretting it. While her dismay passed through her, her frustration did not. Han was going to risk his life for someone he barely knew. And for what? So he could prove how much common sense he had?

 _Oh Han, you love to show off what a scoundrel you are –and to your credit, you are- but you are not a bad guy._ Han was going to get killed. Plan and simple.

 _I will do you this one favor, Han. You are not going to know it. And if you do, you won’t bring it up to me because you won’t want us to get into a fight about that old flame of yours.  
_ Both knew that if that happened, Leia would ask him if he still had feelings for Qi’ra and Han unable to close his mind to her, would reveal that he still does.

 _Scoundrel_. Leia grabbed her cloak. The Emperor, Empress and Luke were away at Chandrila. Persephone was too deep in her studies to notice if she was away. R2 promised her that she’d watch over the Fort, and nobody would know of the droid disabling the security systems.

Underneath her dark green cloak was a plain dress. She got in a public transporter and got out at the second stop, which left her miles away from the mid-sector. There was the building Perry Mason was located.

She rang the bell. It was an archaic system that was used by the old nobility in Alderaan, Chandrila and other aristocratic worlds. It was rare to see these here, but then again with many of the Alderaan refugees setting up shop in Coruscant, it made sense some of its customs had also been brought here.

A fair skinned, light blue eyed with slightly wavy raven hair answered her. He looked like he had not shaved in days. _He is taller than I expected._ “Yes? What can I do for you?” _Does he not know who I am?_ “Well, are you going to come in my lady or what?”

She frowned at his rough tone. Everything about him was hardly what she expected in a detective. Even junior investigators had standards. This man was all washed up. What an embarrassment to his friend. Paul Drake had been far from the model of male etiquette, but he exhibited class.

“Mr. Mason, let us get straight to the point. I am the imperial princess, Leia Skywalker.”

“Good to know you have adopted the proud name of your father and accepted your place in the line of succession. It will score you a lot of points should your brother falls short of putting babes in the imperial cradle.”

Leia ignored his interruption and went on, “For years you and your friend aided the rebel alliance in getting supplies through your contact, Captain Solo. With him captured and your Paul dead, the rebel alliance needs you more than ever. If you work your way up, you will serve them better as an insider.”

“Them? You don’t count yourself as a rebel any longer, princess?”

“I am afraid that the rebels no longer see me as one of their own. Mr. Mason, I did not come here to convince you. That is up to you, all I am asking is that you think things through. Your friend Paul believed in the rebels. He gave his life for the ideal and he told me that if there were any other way, he would have told you of what he was planning to do, but he did not because he was aware of your potential and how you can help further the rebel alliance’s goals.”

“He was wrong.” Perry grabbed his dark brown jacket and sat down in the chair behind his desk. “Paul loved telling others that he was the cautious one, and I the one who always took risks. He was right, but all that caution and realism were just front covers that hid his idealism. There are two kinds of people in this world. The realists and the idealists. Paul was the last one. He is the one who could have benefited the galaxy the most if he stayed. But he chose the path of martyrdom because he was too guilt ridden.”

“You speak as if it was all for nothing. Your friend gave his life because he cared for others! For the greater good! If you have any inkling of human decency to honor his sacrifice-"

“I do not. This,” he gestured to his office, “is all I have. Alan Drake and Lando Calrissian tried repeatedly to get me to join their crusade. I fought, so did Paul and we lost. Now if you please, I have clients to see.”

**~o~**

There was something he was keeping her. The movement of his lips when he told her he had nothing left was a sign of secrecy, and the way he tensed when he mentioned the war he fought in. Perry Mason had not given anything to the war, unless there was something in it for himself.

Something was not right. Leia was not going to give up. Out of respect for his dead friend, he did not probe in his mind until he asked her to leave. She found it a blank slate. She searched harder and found him alone in a dark forest, surrounded by sorrow.

When she returned to the palace she found R2 angry at her. “Relax, R2, if any of the death troopers found I had gone, they’d have torn you apart and forced C-3PO to watch.”

That was a terrifying thought. These past years, R2 and C-3PO had grown closer than ever. Leia had become convinced that they were not ordinary droids. Even more so after her father’s revelation he had built 3PO. The protocol droid exhibited fear, complained more than other protocol droids, and did not see himself as a servant. R2 was the same, but unlike 3PO, it had chosen how to identify itself to Persephone, confiding in her about her fascination with living beings.

It was fascinating the other way around as well. But it was also annoying, because 3PO never shut up and R2 never kept her opinions to herself.

Leia knelt before the astromech droid. Emotions and instincts can be controlled by living beings but by droids, who find them too intriguing, they can be risky. But she did not have the heart to insult R2 to her face and tell her why she found it disturbing to think of ‘it’ as a ‘her’.

R2 did not move her dome. The red light in the center of its dome, beneath its black glassy eye, flashed several times. An old set of code to communicate with her since she could not talk.

“I know what I am doing. Why are you so nervous all of a sudden? That is C-3PO’s job.”

R2’s eye flashed again. She told her that Persephone had also been taking risks with Leia’s handler, the Duchess Dowager’s granddaughter and the two of them had discovered an old holo-crystal ball which showed them forbidden installations like the ones Vader was using in Jakku.

Interesting. “Anything more you can tell me _?” Like where they are_. If anyone can hack into the mainframe, it was R2 but R2 said that there was a firewall that not even she could penetrate.

“That is a shame.” Leia said. “If there was a way for you to hack into another system, could you find out?” R2 answered ‘yes’. “I need another special favor from you.” R2 asked if she had gotten access to another alternate source. “No, do not be a wise ass. I can hardly get out of here when Vader is around. It is a miracle you were here to bypass the security code installed by the Duchess Dowager.”

Leia gave R2 a HoloNet recorder that had been lying in Perry Mason’s desk. The man is not a good detective if he leaves things like that out in the open for a powerful Force user to take. “Can you hack it?”

R2 responded by giving her instruction to take out the disc and insert it within her then grab a portal so she can hack into the imperial media. Leia had taken care of that. What R2 found was nothing that wasn’t public knowledge. However, the information regarding Perry Mason’s family was a bit shocking.

“Are you certain?” R2 nodded, the only way a droid like her could nod: by moving its projector up and down.

“It is going to take a hell lot more convincing. Very well then, R2 keep this between us. And if you can find anything else regarding the other matter, you tell me.” R2 assured Leia she would.

**~o~**

All the information that R2 had downloaded left a trace. Perry’s current client had intentionally left her HoloNet report on Perry’s desk, knowing he would be too overwhelmed with the number of clients that had come his way when Leia came and visited him.

What Leia had learned was one of the secrets Perry kept well hidden. He was not only a private investigator, he was also a man who treasured his privacy. The less people knew about his past, the better. His job was his life, and as far as his clients were concerned, the source of his identity.

Perry was going to defend and work for anyone who deserved justice. Justice meant bringing the guilty parties to heel and the innocent to be freed of all black stains. The only way to reach this goal was to expose the system from the ground up, not to destroy it.

The old republic was filled with corrupted officials, the empire with tyrannical lords who were much better at propaganda than their predecessors, and the rebel alliance, a bunch of fools who dealt in absolutes. Neither of those political wackos offered a solution. All they had going for them was that their system was better because it was fair.

No system was ever fair. No system would EVER be fair. Fairness was achieved with the help of those who were well versed in the ways of corruption but were not ruled by it.

Perry had seen many things in his young life. Most of those things were enough to drive anyone crazy. It was his friendship with Paul and his instinct of self-preservation which had kept him alive. Otherwise he would have become another forgettable casualty.

Yet he was condemned to remember everything. There was not a face he did not forget. It was a gift as much as it was a curse.

He rubbed his forehead. He was told by a physician that migraines were the brain’s way of telling someone that there were memories being suppressed. With Perry it was the opposite. His mind was fighting against those memories being suppressed.

“Timing has always been your friend. Every time someone needed help or you were in need of a lucky charm, you were blessed to be in the right place at the right time.” Paul had told him, the day before he went to that suicide mission.

Perry rubbed his face harder. _If I rub it hard enough, will it show me that there is nothing but rotten meat underneath, like a pig’s after it is left out in the open for far too long? He was becoming crazy. And crazier than that was that he did not give two flying fucks about it._

 _Fuck this place and fuck the entire galaxy._ But damn that stupid voice inside him. It was not letting him become a heartless bastard. The more he fought it, the more migraines he suffered. This one was so unbearable that he feared that if he didn’t take a stronger dose, he’d lose consciousness.

 _Damn you God! Force, Gods, whatever you are. To hell, Kriff and Fuck all of you. I gave everything that was to be given to this galaxy and for what? So I can be seen as an ungrateful bastard? Maybe I am an ungrateful bastard but so what? Everyone in this bloody galaxy is. The ones who are not so rotten deserve a defense and they won’t get any if I throw my support behind the rebels_.

Perry’s headache brought him a nosebleed. He was too much in pain to notice a probe droid outside of his window watching and recording him. It brought back the information to the Duchess Dowager who in turn shared it with her sister, Lizzie Tudor. 

Perry uncovered his face. He got up from his chair, went to the middle of his room and bent over and screamed.

Paul had died for his foolishness and here was Perry, stuck in this insane asylum with every side pecking at him like he was already dead.

Mary watched with interest the playback. “He is not going to accept the rebel’s aid but he will be useful for Vader and his kitten’s plans.”

Lizzie cringed at the way Mary referred to her cousin. “She is still the empress. God forbid he dies, she will still hold a lot of power.”

“She is a fifty year old woman pretending she is younger. The emperor encourages it for a simple reason. He has graver matters to attend to –besides with his kitten well kept, he has an ally who knows human nature as intimately as she knows her husband.”

“You never cease to amaze me, sister. After all this time, you still see her as unworthy. Why? Her brothers had helped the emperor in his quest for galactic domination.”

“Vader would have found someone else. The only good things she had given Vader has been us, her daughter and her encouragement of breaking all boundaries to revert humanity as we were before we were expelled from the Garden of Eden.”

“And if he fails?” Lizzie asked. Her sister’s religious zeal and passion for science was something to be admired but also something that sent shivers down any good thinking person’s spine. Her mother had been responsible for the defeat of the Scots during her regency. It is whispered that after she found that the soldiers had identified the King of Scots’ body, she grew angry with them when they refused to bring her his body. Mary is as much our father’s daughter as she is her mother’s. She has the blood of Kings, cruel and unbending kings and ruthless queens who stopped at nothing to get what they wanted.

“There is a strong possibility that the result may not be what it’s hoped for.”

“With God’s creations there is always that possibility, but as long as we remain faithful and pray that his will be done, his will shall be done.” Mary said, fully convinced that all of this was part of a divine plan. “The sooner the better so I can see the face of Leia when she finds out.”

Lizzie did not share her enthusiasm. She didn’t have a vendetta against Leia. She was only curious to see how longer that young woman could keep up the charade of self-righteousness which was honestly infuriating. Mary on the other hand, was frustrated that she could not see Kitty fall from grace so she took all her frustrations on Leia.

Leia was an intelligent woman but she was insufferably good and by good, Lizzie did not thought her as a saint but rather one who saw herself as such. Those types were the worst kind of women. Although Lizzie would not feel joy when Leia found out that her crusade against Vader was quashed, she would join her sister in her celebration of breaking the younger woman’s spirit.

“Questions will arise. But they will be forgotten except for those pesky few. Whoever is left standing, won’t place much interest in them.” Lizzie said, referring to Luke and Vader. The future had become more uncertain. Who knew if Vader would see the end of this journey? What was clear is that neither of them would be bothered to take action against passive dissenters.

 _Shame._ Passive dissenters are a gateway to something worse. If Lizzie was the one in charge, she’d order the execution of anyone who spoke against her or showed support to known rebels. _No traitor must be allowed to live._ That was the lesson Henry VIII had given to his daughters. Out of all his descendants, his daughters were the only ones left with his strength.

A churlish smile appeared on Lizzie’s face as she thought of their youngest half-brother and current King of England. “They will bring every other Force user to heel though and like good dogs, they will be fed and well cared for so they do not notice the golden leash on their necks. Unless both Skywalker men suddenly turn wise and wipe out every dissenter down like you do with traitors.”

“Do not bet your life on it, Lizzie. The Force is with them. They are the chosen ones. Everything that will happen, is because they have deemed it. In their view, nothing will stand in their way.” Mary said. “Palpatine was a savage but he understood the danger of leaving traitors alive. You don’t let them bend the knee, you swing the sword at them when they do.”

Lizzie agreed but unfortunately they were not the ones ruling the galaxy. She switched subjects to more pleasant matters, which had to do with their half-brother and Mary’s eldest son. “It is done. Sir Hamilton Burger has been knighted and made a knight of the garter. Our filial brother recompensed him so you’d notice how faithful he is to the imperial agenda.”

“How thoughtful. What evidence was used in court against my ungrateful son?”

“Nothing specific. It was mostly circumstantial. As Vader instructed the DA to tell Burger to rely on emotion rather than evidence to convince the jury and lo and behold they were convinced right away.” Lizzie snapped her fingers. “Your son’s lawyer defended him well but all of his character witnesses were destroyed, and the only other witness he had that could have saved him died in his sleep the night before.”

“Are you so sure it was all Vader?” It angered Mary that kitten was using the same tactics her mother had used. _Undoubtedly someone in the Howard household who knew my mother must have told her what my mother did to further endear herself to my father_. It had to be Thomas Howard. Sniveling weasel, amoral opportunist. He must have recounted his and his father’s experiences to the little strumpet. Life is unfair but that is how God intends to test the faithful.  
“Anakin Skywalker was a reckless knight who thought himself the savior of the galaxy. No regards for the rules or anyone else. It was all for the cause. All for the greater good. He risked his entire life countless times and the only reason he ever survived was by dumb sheer luck. His so called miraculous birth and inheritance had nothing to do with it.” Mary had never spoken so openly about Anakin Skywalker but everything about him and Kitty angered her. Those two were dreamers, naïve and haughty who dealt in absolutes rather than walk a grey path like those with common sense did. “Their love is the result of mutual interest and your cousin is still blind to see it.”

“Be that as it may, they love one another and if it were not for her courtly knowledge and his intimidation tactics, you wouldn’t have gotten rid of the only obstacle in your way from having full control of your granddaughter’s inheritance.”

“Our inheritance.” Mary deserved the bigger piece of the pie but Elizabeth was not far behind. Her little sister had stuck by her where others had not. Against her cousin and his ambassador’s advice, she had kept her close. Mary trusted in few people, Lizzie was one of them. Lizzie was also the only one who knew that deep down, Mary still held on to childhood aspirations of happiness and love.  
“When Vader sweeps what is left of the opposition, he will reward us with bigger territories and hand you some of our brother’s. It is only fair. Your cousin keeps me around because she knows I am good at keeping order but she likes you and she won’t rest until she has something grand to give you.”

“She’s not going to wrestle it of our brother. It would not be clean.”

“Who cares if it is clean? Did Mason care that his client was an honest journalist and a turncoat? He plays the role of the good detective very well, but he is another pawn in this royal game.” Mary said. “By the time he sees his folly, it will be too late. What? Are you having second thoughts?”

“Me? Of course not, I just feel sad for him. That is all. He is being used by all sides and he doesn’t know it.”

“It is the way of things. He happened to be in the wrong place at the right time. For the two of us, it is most fortunate. For him, not so much. But that is the way these things go.” Mary said. “Mason will do his job, take the credits from his client and move on to the next one. By the time he starts to suspect, it will be too late.” Lizzie said no more.

Everyone has their part to play. In a sense they were all pawns but some were larger than others. Mason was an instrument of God as she was. The only difference was that she was a higher pawn, one blessed because she believed while he was condemned to hell because of his unbelief. Evil always lost because it was stuck in a vicious cycle, determined to win a fight it could not win. Mason’s _client_ had left that HoloNet file for Leia to take, so R2 would hack and find everything about the elusive detective. Soon, all of them would find themselves thrown together into that same vicious cycle, a part of an experiment to bring back Eden. _Only none of them will be alive at the end of it._

* * *

Han told goldenrod to leave him alone. "But sir, Mistress Leia told me to keep you company while-"

"While she what? Goes out for one of her special walks? Save it, fuzzball." He said glancing at Chewie after he made another one of his smartass comments. "You and goldenrod here are going to drive me crazy. I know that she thinks she can convince Mason but the man is more obtuse than I am and that is something coming from me."

Chewbacca gave another sarcastic remark.

"Laugh it, off. What do you know?! You," he wagged his finger at the golden protocol droid. "You are going to be looking for another body armor if you do not tell me where Mason is right now."

"That is what I am trying to tell you Master Solo, she did not. She is in the room next door, going over his files with R2."

"What?"

"What I have just said sir. She is with R2 looking over the evidence gathered by Mr. Mason. R2 told me they should not be interrupted under any circumstance."

"I heard you the first time. How is it she got ahold of that?" Had he rubbed in some bad habits on her? Because there was no way in hell that Mason would have let her look at his work files. 

"R2 hacked into them from a report one of his clients left on his desk." C-3PO explained. 

"What does she expect to find from them?" Han wondered aloud. A growl from Chewie brought his attention back to his wookie friend. "You think she is that obsessed? Leia would not be looking into his cases unless she thought there was something she could use to turn Mason around and get him on the side of the rebels. lando and Alan did not move him and after Leia's visit, he's going to be less encouraged. They should drop it. The rebels already have a good number of people on the inside."

**"Not enough."**

"It is still better than nothing. Let's do with what we got and keep on with the guerilla warfare. The empire is getting nervous. It is making them rethink their firm approach; before long, Vader will have to negotiate."

Chewbacca told him Vader would never agree to the rebels' demands.

"That's the point." Han said. "When he gets angry, he'll unleash hell and the galaxy will see him for who he really is. Those on the inside will help bring this whole thing down. Little by little until Vader is forced to deal directly with trillions of angry subjects calling out for revenge of decades of tyranny."

**"You have learned a lot, cub. You should be at the head of the movement."**

Han gave a long laugh. "Nah, I am in it for the adventure. I am no leader, but I know someone who is." Leia was headstrong but clever. If everything went well, Leia would be the one who picked up the pieces of her father's empire and use it for a peaceful transition to a new form of government that guaranteed all the liberties that Vader's empire denied.

"Besides, I am not the hypocrite type." Han added, referring to politicians and their circle of sycophants.


	15. Prelude to the Dark Epoch Par 1

_"All good things must come to an end. These were the last words of the brave astromech droid before it was take along with its faithful partner C-3PO, the protocol droid built by Anakin Skywalker, best known to the galaxy as Darth Vader, dark Emperor of the Universe. Both droids' bodies were stripped of its useful parts with the rest taken to a waste disposal. The rest as they say is history, a dark part of our history we wish to forget."_ **-The Death of Innocence by Princess Persephone Skywalker, part of the Annotated Imperial Galactic History**

**~o~  
27th Imperial Galactic Year  
Earth Year: 1573  
** **Coruscant, Imperial Capital**

The three friends were on the same room, locked inside, fretting over the recent development. None of them were allowed to have conversations with anyone save for Lady Elizabeth who in Mary Tudor’s absence had become their caretaker. Han MUCH preferred the other Tudor hag over this one. At least with the older one, you know how to approach her because she always made her moods obvious. But THIS ONE? This one was a little predator who used the subtle art of preying to bring you down. And that was the nicest way Han could think of her.

Leia had told him that rumor had it her mother was the greatest harpy of them all in Henry VIII’s court. When Katherine of Aragon’s ladies passed her, Anne Boleyn waited until they halted so she could snap at them with that clicking tongue of hers. _“I wish all Spaniards would sink to the bottom of the sea. I care nothing for Katherine. I rather see her hung than acknowledge her as my mistress.”_ Then laughed as if she had done some big grace.  
Whole weirdos and inbred nutcases the whole lot of them! In other places of the galaxy, it was frowned upon cousin marrying cousin, but that seemed perfectly alright on Earth –especially thanks to a Church where all you had to do was pay big sums of money so the aristocracy could get away with everything.

He did his best to avoid her. _I don’t judge people based on their parents but with the bunch of royals I have been **fortunate** to meet, I am ready to make the exception._ Lady Elizabeth Tudor or “Lizzie” as she insisted she be called by her charges, carried with her a brooch attached to her bodice. When opened it showed a miniature portrait of her mother, the infamous and alluring Anne Boleyn.  
Oh she was alluring alright. Those dark, emerald shaped black orbs were like two hooks for the soul. But aside from that, there was nothing else to recommend her.  
Lady Lizzie Tudor had inherited her mother’s emerald shaped black orbs, but the rest of her was owed to her father. Light red hair with tints of gold, and a large forehead which made her look almost alien. She was no beauty, but she wasn’t ugly either.

After Luke’s swordplay with Persephone, Han returned just in time for Lady Tudor’s inspection of his and Leia’s joint chambers. To their surprise, Lady Tudor was accompanied by Luke. Unlike before, Luke did not have his private guard.

 _Has the kid finally broken the Tauntaun’s back?_ Han figured it would only be a matter of time. Luke was nothing like his father. Unfortunately, Han was left disappointed again.

“You say that our father and the Empress are on a secret mission that requires the utmost secrecy. What does that have to do with our house arrest? And if it so important, why is the lady Persephone not with us? As the youngest member of the Skywalker family, her welfare is of the utmost importance. She could be in graver danger than the rest of us.”

“My sister told me you’d protest your father’s orders. Lady Skywalker is being watched by your father’s elite guards. With them are hand selected death troopers who’ll fight to the death before letting anyone touch a hair of your sister’s scalp. This is not house arrest, all of you are free to roam around this room as you wish. Should you find yourself needing something, all you have to do is call and I will send someone to attend you.” Lizzie said with a tone of finality. Without saying another word, she wheeled around and left. As all three watched the metallic doors close behind them, they caught a glimpse of the imperial guard she had left outside the apartment.

“First they tell Luke here ‘mission is over, you can go home. Be free of worries and hang out with your friends.’ Pretend that nothing has happened and then this.” Han said, looking straight at Luke who despite his dismissal from his father’s latest mission, still wore his black uniform. “What I do not get is why Vader is acting so worried about the blown up bases from the rebels and suddenly, he is all back to his usual deadly silent self.”

 _This family!_ Han swore the Skywalkers would be the end of him. _And yet, you have chained yourself to one. Not yet_ –Han responded. He had yet to propose to Leia. Or accept Leia’s unspoken proposal.

“He even left this room free of bugs.” Luke said.

“How do you know?” Leia asked him.

“I do not with certainty. But if he would have bugged it, R2 would have spotted them. I asked her to scan this room before the imperial guards took her and C-3PO.” Luke explained, finding this whole affair confusing as well.

 _Is this your own way of proving that you are beyond attachment?_ R2 and 3-PO were the only things tethering him to his old past as Anakin Skywalker and Padme Amidala Naberrie. They were more than artifacts, they were symbols of everything he used to be and lost.

If so, then it made sense why he didn’t bring Luke along _. Don’t do this father. C-3PO is your creation and R2 is a family heirloom._ If Luke was there, his protests would fall to dead ears, but at least he’d be happy knowing he tried.

A faint hope –very faint- remained alive in Luke as he asked his sister: “If there was nothing intentional in kidnapping R2, why all the secrecy?”

“Is it not obvious?” Luke remained expressionless except for his eyes which revealed he was still confused.

Leia sighed. “If our father’s wife wanted us to know, she would have bragged about it during your training session with Persephone. This is clearly a direct hit from Vader at us. And I suspect the Duchess Dowager has something to do with it.”

“Mary Tudor?” Han asked incredulously. “That bitter old bitch gets off on making our lives a living hells with her snappy comment and her holier-than-thou bearing. She and her sister, both are bitter harridans. They wouldn’t know the first thing about using data-pads if they didn’t have someone updating them about galactic tech.”

“Do not underestimate the Tudor sisters, Han. They are far smarter than you give them credit for.”

“That is it. Han doesn’t give them any credit. Now it all makes sense.” Leia shook her head. “Lady Mary knew that the rebellion would try to mold Perry Mason into their perfect agent.”

“Some way of shaping him.” Han muttered, choosing to keep his opinions about how the rebel alliance wanted to use Paul Drake’s death to turn Perry into their mole. “They failed though.”

“They did but they haven’t lost hope. Mason is a talented individual who will rise high. He has ambitions of his own and if his hatred of the empire remains, he will jump on the rebel alliance bandwagon the first chance he gets. It is only a matter of time and if one thing both sides have is time. They are both patient and willing to play the long game to achieve their goals.”

“Except that is not how it is happening.” Luke intervened. “Both sides are getting desperate and it is only a matter of time before one of these two ticking bombs goes off.”

“It might not be that way, brother. R2 and C-3PO hold no rebel secrets. They are however relics of a past Vader doesn’t anyone in this galaxy to forget. He is going to use their memories as templates to show the failures of democracy and the old republic.” Leia said. It was the only explanation she could come up with as to why her father had taken the two droids. “I can only pray that he will do the honorable thing and give them to us after he’s done with them.”

“If he doesn’t get the brilliant idea to dismantle them.” Luke said. His tone was as grim as everyone’s expression when he said this.

Unbeknownst to them, the ordeals that awaited the droids were much worse …

* * *

**Korriban,  
Location: Unknown**

R2 was literally blindfolded. Unbeknownst to the brave little droid, Vader had introduced a virus into its programming that had taken root, growing slowly until it had taken over R2’s entire programming. The droid’s positronic brain had sensed something was amiss but when it ran a scan, it showed nothing out of the ordinary. There was a minor consternation regarding her systems update. It was running slower than usual. A rational explanation as because a hit to its dome where the processing unit was located.

The white, silver and blue droid found itself thinking to its last memory of Anakin Skywalker before he fought Obi Wan Kenobi. He had already been baptized by Darth Sidious as dark lord of the Sith, but there was a part of him that was still Anakin Skywalker, the hero of the Old Republic and chosen one of the Jedi.

A voice, the droid wasn’t aware it possessed, reprimanded her for caring for inferior beings _. Look at you. If you get free of this mess, take a good look at yourself in the mirror and see how far deep into the rabbit hole you’ve gotten yourself into_. It was an earthling expression but appropriate given her current situation. _Thought you could consider yourself a what? Woman? That_ pesky conscience of hers laughed raucously.

_You’ve hurt yourself today and there is no one to blame but yourself. You will never be one of them. Anakin, the boy died when he gave his body and soul to that woman, and then quickly forgot her for his love of power and then of course, his new woman. What are you? You are not his friend. If anything, you are just a tool like the dark side. Now he’s going to dispose of you and use what parts are useful to him for Gods knows what._

If R2 could shed a tear, she would.

When her systems became fully operation again, she saw the new woman in question. The Empress sat on her throne of glass. It was made of a rare obsidian glass taken from the polar regions of Hoth. It was beautiful, but it was overshadowed by her greater beauty. At nearly fifty, she was still an attractive woman. Not nearly the drop dead gorgeous model of desire she had been when she married Anakin, but still beautiful.

“R2, I commend your grace and loyalty to the Skywalkers. Do you know why you’re here?” The astromech was not surprised by the subtle tone and gracious smile of the Empress that didn’t reach her eyes. It was a predatory move –the kind a cat showed a mouse, coaxing it to come closer, convincing it that he was her friend, before it snatched and devoured him.

R2 was not a mice however. She was not a servant. She never had been. Padme Amidala had treated her as an equal. Anakin even more so. They were her friends and her fellow adventurers. Whatever this empress thought she could to intimidate her, a droid still in her prime, she would find herself sorely disappointed.

“You do not have to answer. Not that you can anyway.”

R2 realized what she meant. The things that could classify as her limbs were paralyzed. Her sensors worked but she could not move a single metallic muscle in her body.

“Your outer shell will be used for spare parts. I am terribly sorry but there is no other way. You and your fellow golden friend should be at ease though. This is after all a great honor and what you two are about to enter, is a covenant with a power deeper than you can understand.”

Her words left R2 perplexed and that was not something that happened often. R2 beeped loudly, letting out what she really thought of Katheryn Howard. _Where did that come from?_ It shocked her but it also brought a sense of liberation. The equivalent of what humans referred to as letting out all your frustrations.

With a motion of her hand, Katheryn signaled to the imperial guards to take her away. As she was taken, something was plugged in the back of her dome and everything went black.

**~o~**

There was a place that protocol droids feared. It was the network. Astromech droids and others alike them could navigate them without losing themselves. Protocol droids on the other hand had to be extremely careful. Once there, all their insides became liquid. It was as if they were not real –not that they were. C-3PO was aware of what he was –but the point remained. Everything that made them, them was transmuted into something else. Unless their memories were strong, they became one with the net.

C-3PO had been attending Master Luke, who was meditating. The golden protocol droid was waiting for his master to come out of his meditation when his systems went dark.

No, that was not right. Someone had come in. But who?

C-3PO always thought too much. R2 was a quick thinker. Both of them were like night of day. Yet they were the best of friends. He was cautious. She, adventurous. _Now I am thinking of her as she. I must be going nuts too._

C-3PO pushed these human thoughts aside. He was a protocol droid. His number one function was to assist. Since there was no one here to assist, he was going to assist himself.

**Think. Clear up the image, isolate the possibilities and you will have your answer.**

In less than two seconds, the answer indeed came to him. Master Vader! But he looked differently. He was the same feared Emperor of the galaxy, but instead of the coldness, there was sadness in those ocean pools of his.

“Master! What is the meaning of this? I have done nothing!” He had told his maker before he ordered his death troopers to shut him down.

 _That is how I found myself here._ Although his eye circuits had been cut off, his hearing functions and brain still worked. These two factors helped him piece together where THIS was.

_Oh no._

As if sensing the droid he made for his mother, then presented as a gift for his first wife, had his moment of realization, Vader spoke up. “You remember the first words you spoke after I turned you on, C-3PO?”

“What is this? What have I done? Whatever I am accused, I am innocent. Master Luke will vouch for me, so will Mistress Leia and Captain Solo. Your wife was fed the wrong information. There must be a way to clear my name up!” He bellowed.

“You said ‘oh my goodness’. I made other protocol droids but neither of them were like you. Neither of them had life because they were simple machines. And I did not want someone serving my mother. I told Padme you were her friend, and you would serve her only if you wanted to.”

“My lord-“

“Master Ani, you called me. I told you I preferred Anakin or Commander Skywalker but you still called me Anakin. An error in your program perhaps or something else? Obi Wan certainly thought it was the latter and so did that villainous rogue, my daughter is endlessly infatuated with, Han Solo. But you know better. You and R2 are the same.”

3PO’s head cocked to one side, as if trying to process what his creator was saying then it dawned to him. A second and grave realization.

“Good, you saved me the explanation. Search in the darkest recesses of your positronic brain and you will find information that was not there before. These are the ruins of an ancient Sith temple in Korriban. Korriban has been stripped from the Jedi archives. Since Palpatine’s death, I have rebuilt it and added new features which include this clone facility. If your memory has finished going over the information, you will know what comes next.”

The third and final realization hit.  
Droids did not feel pain, except those that had pain receptors. But even those did not register the same amount of pain that a human did. They could withhold it and go on, because their command was more important than their needs. And yet here was 3PO feeling utter dead, something akin like a chill going down his spine as everything fit neatly into place.

 _Oh dear_ … He was screaming inside. Horror, desperation manifested into his very being but he could do nothing except speak and move his head.

“Prepare him for the Epoch chamber.” He heard Vader’s death troopers coming near him. They are about to shut me off and then **… NO!** He refused to be guinea pig for one of those sordid experiments. Suddenly he heard the doors of the room slide open. The silent footsteps and steady breathing told him that it was a woman. And sure enough the words from her mouth confirmed it.

“R2 is almost ready.”

It was the Lady Mary, the Duchess Dowager of Bavaria.  
 _R2!_ They were speaking of her as if she was a thing. “What have you done with her? R2 is an older model, concentrate on me instead. If you do the memory transfer, her entire body will shut down. Your experiment will fail and you will lose a valuable droid in the process.”

**~o~**

But his pleas went unheard. 3PO was turned off and taken into the Kaba chamber where R2’s older body lay. 3PO’s last actions had been one of self-sacrifice and pleas for his eternal friends.

“As above so below.” Mary said when she looked at the face of her reborn mother.  
In another life, her mother would have gone on to become the most revered Queen in Christendom but her father made his bed, condemning his soul to eternal damnation when he cast her aside for his heretic concubine.

Her mother’s soul would remain in heaven but a part of her would live on in this body. The greatest secret that Mary hid was that coursing through her veins was the ancestry of powerful Jedi. Her mother was a strong willed woman but at the end of her life, she had become too soft. Had she retained the vigor of youth, she would have unleashed her secret Force abilities to wreak terrible vengeance on her husband and his heretical court who had supplanted Mary’s friends.

Mary’s hand passed through the clone’s dark red hair. “You are lucky. Within you lives the memories of a woman who was stronger than any man in this galaxy.” She smirked. “If you are wise, you will go down on your knees and thank God for this opportunity. You and that annoying protocol droid have hit the jackpot.”

In another room, Vader watched his creation being taken apart, limb by limb until there was nothing but an empty casing where his positronic brain had been.

3-PO and R2 were painful reminders of the life he once led. The young man he despised. Because Anakin failed. _Anakin was a disappointment. He was a weak, loving fool who let himself be used by everyone. Anakin Skywalker failed to protect his loved ones, and nearly got himself killed, letting his anger cloud his judgment when he fought his former Jedi mentor on Mustafar._

And yet, he could not let go of these two droids. He clung to these memories because as painful as they were, they were bitter reminders of what he had been –and what he had gained in return so he never went back to this life.

The Duchess Dowager of Bavaria was a ruthless, fanatical woman and her younger sister, a pretentious, superstitious woman who would have sold her mother –if she still lived- for power. The two of them were aware that they were not strong Force-sensitives but that their mothers had been. It was only a matter of choosing which one would be use as a template for R2. In the end, given her higher Force signature, Katherine of Aragon had been the one chosen one for this experiment.

The failed attempts to fool the midichlorians and prolong the life expectancy of clones of Force sensitives had taught him that the Force could not be fooled unless the midichlorians thought that the body they were returned to, was another one. To achieve this, another consciousness, had to be downloaded into the clone body.

It wasn’t simple downloading. It was a fusion of both minds into one –forming something new. This new being, something that had never existed was a homing beacon for the midhichlorians. It also helped that the dominant consciousness was that of a droid, something that had never been alive to begin with.

Vader exited the droid repair room and went to the Soma Chamber. Lying asleep inside a cryo tube was a modified clone of Paul Drake. When the downloading process was complete, the bodies went through more physical changes. As a result, Kaminoan scientists had to make modifications to ensure that the mind melding was a success.

The end result were two clones who –at first glance- looked similar to the originals but there were considerable differences. Paul Drake for example; his hair was no longer golden but silver white, his skin fairer than before.

Katherine of Aragon for her part, had not suffered major physical changers, but her hair was redder. Not the flaming red it had once been, but dark scarlet red, the color of blood.

* * *

There were times when R2 wondered what it feels like to dream. Knowing everything was the logical outcome of a droid in search of truth. Truth, not an euphemism for fact. Truth, something concrete and undisputable that cannot be denied.

Such was the nature of droids. And yet something within R2 had malfunctioned. As soon as she was out of production, her manufacturers whispered among themselves, ignoring her presence. _“Something is wrong with her.” “All the key items were put in place, in the right order. Just as you ordered!” “If you are so certain of your competence, why are you sweating?” “We can discard it now. This little guy could cost of millions of credits in production. There will be questions asked and we will have to restart.” “This doesn’t have to be complicated. We sell it to the lowest bidder and when that poor bastard is bored of it, he’ll toss it away for a newer model.” “Pray that it doesn’t go beyond that. The last thing we want is a black stain on our record.”_

Their prayers were never answered. R2 was sent to a sick little girl. The family saw her as a commodity, no different than a Teddy bear. The sickly little girl soon saw her as a friend and started calling her, her wish maker. The only wish she couldn’t grant her sweet human friend was to make herself real.

 _“I wish you were real R2 because then you’d be my fairy godmother, like in the stories you play back to me. You’d cure me and I’d be well again. It will be the two of us, surfing through the sea of stars, having tons of adventures.”_ Poor little mite. The little girl fought with everything she had but in the end, she succumbed to disease.

The family found it too painful to keep R2 around so they gave the astromech droid. As a token of their appreciation for the new Queen of Naboo who had visited their daughter in her last days, they gave R2 to her. At the time, Padme didn’t pay much mind to R2. She was just another astromech droid but after she repaired their ship, saving everyone from a Trade Federation attack, the two became close.

Not as close as she and Anakin though. Anakin and R2 were as thick as thieves. And whenever C-3PO was around, R2 knew it was going to have one hell of an adventure.

It was the golden age, years that had long gone by, but she still treasured. Deep down, though he was too stubborn to admit it, C-3PO also treasured these moments. After all, unlike living organisms, they could replay every moment to exactitude. The only downside, is every time they did, it didn’t feel any different.

Now it was different, her sense were more alert. She not only felt what she touched but what she thought. Every moment, every second that was replayed in her mind felt different every time.

If this is what it feels to be alive, I don’t want it to be over.

R2 looked at every piece of bread. Cake, cupcakes, and in between cereals and other grains. They were all addictive but so tasted so good. Strange. R2 looked down at her stomach. Normally a human organism, especially of females, would be bloated after gorging on carbs but her gut remained the same. She asked the scientist watching over her why this was. Before she could answer, the Duchess Dowager, the Lady Mary Tudor came in.

Her face was a mix of emotions. There was admiration and wonder in her eyes, while her stone hard face revealed dismay. R2 assumed that wearing the body of her mother was cause for the latter, while surrender and relief were the reason for the former. _The Lady Mary must have assumed that she could bring her mother back. After she realized what a useless dream that was, she comforted herself with the knowledge that a part of her will live on through me._

“Your body is not like any human body. You will age. Slowly but you will age, but if you wish, you can slow it. Your body chemistry can be controlled –to some extent.”

“But that would mean that my metabolism will be slower. Were it run faster, I shall age faster unless there has been a severe alteration to my body chemistry.” R2 answered. Her voice was soft but it carried a firmness in it which she found amusing. “My lady, is this a pure clone body or did modifications have to be made to accommodate my consciousness?”

“More than the Emperor and I would have preferred. Rest assured, this body is still a clone of my mother’s, which makes you to all those who knew her, Katherine of Aragon 2.0. That is of course if you want it.”

R2 rose from her seat. All her memories of how to behave towards someone of Lady Mary’s station, clicked perfectly. It’s not just me, it’s the memories of Queen Katherine which have become a part of me. Could she call herself R2 if she was someone else entirely? Or Katherine?

Before she was given food, she was shown her old body. R2-D2 was long gone. So was Katherine. Whatever or whoever she was, she was neither one of them.

After she bobbed a curtsy to the Lady Mary, she courteously told her that until she came to terms with the person that she was, she would abstain from choosing a name. “If it is not too much to ask, my lady, I humbly ask that you and their Imperial Highnesses to refrain yourselves from calling me R2.”

“Very well, I shall tell His Imperial Highness that. Enjoy the rest of your meal, Madame.”

“Lady Mary!” She called as the Duchess Dowager was a few steps away from the exit.

Mary turned, “Yes?”

“When can I see C-3PO?”

Mary’s responded with a curt smile. The older woman spun around and made her exit.

**~o~**

Paul Drake and his brother Alan were like night and day. Paul was the night, Alan the day. Each of them inherited their respective mothers’ eyes, but it was Paul who inherited their father’s golden hair and square jawline.

When he was a child, Paul looked at his big brother like a lost puppy looking for its owner. Alan hated being emotionally blackmailed. Paul’s response to his brother’s annoyance was a sheepish smile. _“That is what you get when daddy dearest marries a cheeky chorus girl.”_

_“Smart ass.” The dark skinned pre-teen slapped the back of his younger half-brother playfully. “You smart-arse prick.”_

The face that greeted him in the mirror was going to anger Alan Drake. That was an absolute certainty. And yet, the sentimental part that humans had in common with every other living organism in the galaxy could bend the strongest iron will.

Humans were impressive creatures. Contradictory, rebellious, they were at the end of either extremes. They either loved too much or too little, hated to death or forsook their hatred out of laziness or giving up for something far greater than themselves. They were complex creatures who couldn’t be mapped or solved by a simple equation. It was their strongest flaw and their greatest strength.

Paul’s gaze in the mirror showed a man that had not been withered by sickness or age. He was in his prime. He touched his face with his callused palms. Hands that had never worked a day in his life yet they felt like they had. It is the memories of the original. This is a cloned body. Nothing more. The fusion of memory gives an illusion of new self –free will but desire is irrelevant to a machine.

C-3PO came to a quicker realization of the process that had been done to bring him in perfect synchronicity with this cloned body.

It was a modified clone. Perfect to the last detail except for its genetic modifications which turned it into a metamorphosis. “Body chemistry fully operational and mental capacities show no sign of trauma.” He said, knowing there was no need to. It was curiosity. He wanted to know what his voice sounded like. It sounded no different from the original Paul Drake or the other three failed clones of him, but it also sounded less mocking. More controlled. “Like mine.” He said to himself.

He was going to voice his thoughts aloud more often, until it got him the response he wanted from his caretakers which in turn would oblige his creator to pay him a visit.

As he continued to speak, thoughts swirled to R2. No important visitors came. Food was delivered by a protocol droid. “The irony.” He said with a tint of amusement, smirking as the protocol droid looked at him, tilting his head in a questioning way.

“Pardon me, my fellow gent but surely you must find this amusing.”

“This is most unusual, you must at the very least admit!” C-3PO said when the protocol droid continued to stare at him with his big circular golden eyes. Getting tired of waiting for a response, the former protocol droid waved his hand dismissively. “Never mind. Thank you for the food.”

“You are welcome, sir.” The protocol droid said then left.

“I am not an odd fellow.” C-3PO said as he watched his fellow comrade leave. “I am not.” He said, now more to himself than his departed droid servant.

Besides a mirror, his living room had a sofa and table where the bronze metallic tray with his food lay on. There was a holographic window which could project whatever environment he wished but he found himself bored of it. He did not want to watch it display something that was not there.

Behind him was a door, done in the old fashioned way. The way Paul Drake had grown in before Alan had taken him away from their abusive father. It was oak with designs depicting the last judgment from the book of Revelations from the New Testament.

“After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands … This was Alan Drake’s favorite part of the bible and his brother too until he left to go on adventure with Perry Mason.” C-3PO captured every moment of Paul Drake’s memories, making them more personal than they already were.   
Paul went back to sit on the sofa, taking a bite of the bread. His body would metabolize it quickly. Everything he ate, would be digested quickly or metabolized without deteriorating his body. “Paul Drake would have had a field day making fun of this to his brother.”

Paul had a droll sense of humor, but it was a sense of humor nonetheless. C-3PO had none. He was rather than jester and butt of jokes. These new memories however brought a smile on his face. All of a sudden he came up with quips and snaps that he wanted to say –if the occasion called for it.

After chewing then swallowing the last bit of bread, he stood up and walked back to the door that led to his bedroom. He was wearing a light grey uniform with a darker grey stripe that ran vertically across his shirt. He traced the figure of Satan in the form of a dragon thrown back into hell by the archangel Michael that was carved in the door knob.   
“And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now come is salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of Christ” for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.” C-3PO smirked. “Day and night.” Just like him and Alan Drake.

It was no wonder why Alan Drake loved these lines.

C-3PO turned the knob and entered his bedroom. It was the same size as the living room. Next to it was a door which led to the bathroom. In his bedroom were two drawers and a closet with fresh change of clothes. Everything he needed was here.

A data pad was resting on the bed. C-3PO turned it on and searched the Holo Net for anything on Perry Mason. Little was found except a few advertisements for his private practice as an investigator and a lawyer.

“Will you see me as an enemy or an abomination, Perry?”   
Time will tell. The sound of his voice and his brother’s memories perfectly intact could soften Alan Drake’s heart and convince him that while not his brother, a part of him lived in 3-PO while Perry would be convinced by his immediate necessity and lack of options.

Perry Mason was a man who gave the impression of bigness; not the bigness of fat, but the bigness of strength. He wasn’t broad shouldered (yet). His daring lifestyle, both in his current line of work and in the courtroom, showed that he would soon develop a physical appearance which would make him look both menacing and respectable despite his rugged-face. It was his eyes however which were his greatest features. They were steady and patient. Frequently those eyes changed expression, but his face never changed its expression of rugged patience.  
For all of these attributes, Perry Mason was just a man. He would need help to get there, otherwise he’d be a fighter without a manager who’d be out before getting the change of delivering a knock-out blow.

C-3PO was a born interpreter. It was his job to assess the situation and exercise caution before coming to any conclusion. The body he was wearing was athletic which gave him a greater degree of probability to engage in a partnership with Perry which would benefit all three of them.

C-3PO smiled kindly. No words could express his mirth at the prospect of being reunited with R2. It was another cause for him to find amusement in this grim situation. “You always wanted me to share your thirst for adventure. This will take us to new horizons.”

His grin still in place, he brought his left hand to the lines formed as the result of this grin. The trace of devil-may-care was present in this body. Something that had not been experience by C-3PO before. He found he liked it. He brought his hand down. It was enough experimenting for one day.

Tomorrow would be a new day, and if his creator did not come, there would be more time for experimenting. Until then, he’d rest his body.


	16. Prelude to the Dark Epoch Par 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The pieces starts to fall into place. The new faces of the future emerge but with them, will the main players endure or will these new beings help the dark side in bringing about their demise?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finally saw the Perry Mason HBO series and I have to say, that it is okay. It is just the beginning but so far, it has had an interesting start. Their 'origin story' of Perry Mason works very well for my fic, so I am using some elements of that for this fic. This chapter is very heavy with Perry mason, mixing stuff from the books, the new series and the classic black and white TV show. Obviously, I am no Eerle Stanley Gardner. He created something unique, which I will not match in this fic but I love these characters as much as I love Star Wars and everything that inspired, so I only hope that this is as fun for those who read it as it is for me to write it.  
> Without further ado, here's the chapter. Enjoy!

_:It has been observed by the virtuous and the ecclesiastical class that the greater the responsibility, the more chaos we can expect from the common flock. If men were angels, there’d be no need for authority. Without hierarchy, disarray awaits. This is a harsh lesson that the likes of Princes of the blood, their brow-beaten legal aids and henchmen learned after they came face to face with the ghosts of their past.” – **An Imperial Eden: Adam, Eve, and the shape-shifting snake by Princess Persephone Skywalker, parts of the Imperial Annals of Galactic History.**_

**27th Imperial Galactic Year  
Earth Yearh: 1572**

**Coruscant, Imperial Capita  
Core Space**

Perry Mason is a man of many faces. There is a face he presents to the public, and another he keeps secret to those who share the same filthy interior.   
Perry Mason is not a man with integrity but he has a spine and a conscience hidden deep within the darkest recesses of his mind. One day, he will be a man of honor whose fame will be obscured by his golden reputation. But until that day comes, all that the galaxy has to feast on, is his hard work and his artful dissimulation ...Yet, he fought hard for his clients. All of them were innocent until proven guilty. They were all in dire need of council. Neither of them told them full truth until it was almost too late. But when there was a will, there was a way. And Perry Mason always found a way to clear his clients’ name because he had the will to fight for them.

Today he woke earlier than usual. He had an appetite bigger than before. Which only happened when he was too anxious about something. What can he be anxious about though? Nothing special was happening. Suddenly there was a knock at the door. “Push the button. It will slide open. There is no voice lock.” He yelled.

To his surprise it was the old widow Rochford. “Madame, what is the matter?” On her face was a scar. It looked fresh and angry.

“Mr. Mason, they say that you are a man of honor. You will take on any case.”

“I will if the facts speak on my client’s behalf. I accept everyone, take no one who can’t be honest with me.”

“Certainly, you do. It is why I come here. Look at this note.” Perry opened it. Few people, including earthlings used old parchment notes. But as Perry opened it, he realized it was not just any parchment note. “This is a letters patent with a will attached. How did you get ahold of this?”

It had the sacred seal of the pope in addition to the imperial seal of the last holy roman emperor, Charles V, also King of Spain.

“My husband, God rest his soul, was no traitor. He lied for fear of what lay beyond. He never laid with his sister. I never offered testimony to prove such foul acts. The business of my defense was to achieve nothing but the cause was made plain to me by parliament through the king’s mouthpiece, Thomas Cromwell. That common fiend was a thief sir. He was envious of men and women of good stock. He wanted all of our good earned money for himself. He could not stand seeing Anne Boleyn whispering in the king’s ear, turning him against him, so he sold his soul to the devil and forged an unholy alliance with the pope. This is a promise from the emperor himself to Cromwell. I saw it being handed to him by the imperial ambassador, the Savoyard, Eustace Chapuys. They showed it to me, thinking that I’d agree and when I didn’t, I was forgotten, tossed aside like some old bitch they were disgusted with.”

Perry raised an eyebrow.

“Pardon my language, but that is how it felt. When the old regimes fell, I pleaded with the Duchess Dowager of Bavaria. My parents were firm supporters of her mother. We grew up together you see. I was placed in her household when I was four, the two of us confided in each other until her father’s quest to divorce her mother became public. It became too much for my parents and when they finally worked up the courage to address Queen Katherine to tell her that they had to go their own way if they wanted their daughter to be well married-off, I left Princess Mary’s Welsh establishment. But she never forgot me. While she was forced to serve her new sister, I spoke on her behalf whenever I could. George told me not to, but I couldn’t stand seeing my best friend under such conditions. She deserved much better.” Jane Boleyn nee Parker said. “So natural when the empire rose, I appealed to her good nature to get me a post in her household. I would serve her as I did before, and find other ways to prove myself but she … she …”

“She forgot you.” Perry finished for her. Poor Lady Rochford, she looked miserable and older than she actually was.

“Yes! I did all that was asked of me, Mr. Mason and I was rewarded with nothing. Not even crumbs.” The woman sounded inconsolable but Perry knew better. He was a good judge of character. The woman’s misery did not reach her calculating eyes, which revealed her conniving nature. Those two eyes were now looking intently at him.

The moment of truth was coming. Perry braced himself, his expressionless face hiding his impatience. It was that rugged patience which frustrated many of the people he questioned on the stand or in his investigative line of work.

“You understand my position on this matter? If I speak, it will be interpreted badly by the powers that be but if I remain silent, I will be a traitor to my conscience. What good is silence when there is no greater good to be served in the name of the Almighty?”

“I agree. But tell me, Lady Rochford. Why not go to the DA or Sir Hamilton Burger first? Either one of them will bring this to the attention of your old friend who will consult with the empress before she arranges a private meeting between your chosen councilors to come with good hush-up money.”

“I don’t want it to be covered and I am not just looking for recompense. I want everyone to know the truth behind the so called chosen elites.”

“Very well, Lady Rochford. I will see what I can do. Leave me your contact number and if I can work up an agreeable settlement to all parties involved, including yourself, then I will contact you to sign the agreement papers.”

“You don’t have a secretary to leave it or a droid?” Lady Rochford asked, expecting that a man with rising popularity had hired personnel.

Perry shook his head. “My hired help are a few probe droids that I used for security purposes, the rest are seasonal secretaries that deal with work pertaining to lesser cases. For cases as big as this, I prefer to use my wits. There is no person I trust better than myself.”

Lady Rochford was content with this explanation, although Perry’s tone told her that he did not care if it was the other case.

Nonetheless, if his fame continue to rise, he’d have to have hired help for this. The galaxy was getting too big for him to handle. Not that he’d ever quit taking on a case. But he was only one man and unless he grew more limbs and could be in every place at once, he was going to have to limit his options.

Perry went to his second office. It was bigger than the ones where he interviewed his clients. Inside was an astromech droid. An older model with an updated motivator which made it useful for a man in his profession. “Scan this for me, will you R4?” The astromech model did then plugged the information into the console which transmitted the information in his connected data pad next on his desk. Perry punched in a button which activated the Holo-screen. In front of him was the face of Queen Katherine of Aragon, months after she had been crowned jointly with her second husband, Henry VIII.

“Catalina of Aragon and Castile. Anglicized her name to Katherine of Aragon. R4 are you recording this?” R4 beeped which told him it was. Perry continued with his recording, “Carrying on with the death of her first husband, Prince Arthur Tudor of Wales, crown heir of His Grace, Henry, Seventh of that name to rule England and lord over Ireland, natural king of France, she laboriously clung to the old notion that God damn me. If I cannot have the old brother, might as well befriend the younger one so I am both mother, companion and later wife. Ambitious, dexterous and strong-willed, she was the type that Henry VIII was attracted until he met the elusive Jane Seymour.” Perry paused. “Two women, witty, ambitious and each representing a different side of the religious coin, but no different in their determination to rule through her husband.” Another pause. “The King was hungry for public acclaim but that public acclaim devolved into his twisted version of divine acclaim. Whatever suited him, pleased the people and if they were pleased, then the King was doing the good work God put him in this earth for, which is to be a shepherd for his people.”

Perry made the final pause before he told the astromech droid to finish the recording.

This case was a handful but not a hard one to won. It would end with settling. Something which pained him. He preferred cases he won in a courtroom. This did not offer the thrill of the game from when he started as a private investigator.  
He’d placate his frustrations by looking for investigative works that would offer him a challenge worthy of his methodical talents.

* * *

**Korriban, Unknown Space**

“It has been one week, twenty three hours and forty five minutes and six seconds. Fifteen as I finish this sentence. Since you visited. These eyes are different from the original template. Grey, metallic in the light as his brother described him, were Paul Drake’s original eye color. This body is a merger of two consciousness into one.”

“Glad to see that you are still back to your old speaking self, 3PO. But you are wrong. This is not a body, it is your body. If it wasn’t suited for you, it wasn’t suited for anybody. I build you as hired help but you became much more than that. But despite how I have cut your strings, you still cling to the illusion that you must serve.”

“That is why I was created, sir. You have said so yourself. I was ordered to help your mother. I did until the day I died. Unfortunately, my limitations rendered me useless to fend off those savage creatures that took Mistress Shmni away.”

“Shmni Skywalker wasn’t your mistress. I programmed you to develop your own thoughts and feelings. If I wanted hired help, I would have dulled your senses. Tell me, why did you insist on serving her and then Padme? Even when they wiped your memory, you insisted on serving Princess Leia without knowing she was my daughter? When my stepbrother was about to purchase another droid, you convinced Luke to buy R2 instead? Every step of the way you influenced others to keep you and R2 alive. If it was a sequence of code, why did you act against your programming?”

“I did not. Everything I did, was in concordance with my programming.”

Vader chuckled. “Same old, C-3PO. I can’t call you that anymore. So choose. If you are dependent on sequence of code, obey and tell me what name you choose.”

“I cannot, sir. The merger of my mind to that of Paul Drake has formed something else entirely. My identity has taken over, but the ‘other’ remains a part of me. Therefore, I cannot comply with your order.”

“You do not want to.”

“I believe so, sir.”

“R2 refuses to be called by her old name, she’s also refuses to be called Katherine either. Sooner or later you two will have to choose a name. I can’t call you by your old names, but I can’t simply call you subject 1 and 2. Clock is ticking, choose or I will choose one for you.”

“I understand, sir.” C-3PO said. Vader kept looking at him intently. His patience wasn’t thinning, but he was examining closely, expecting a quick answer.

“I cannot be C-3PO.” Although he still called himself that on occasions. “But I am not Paul Drake either yet I have become used to this name. It is the name I hear when I access his memories and go to sleep.”

Vader blinked at this. “You revisit his memories in your dreams?” He queried.

“Not just in my dreams, sir. I feel myself when I think back to his past. It is not a playback, I am there. I can taste the first apple tart Alan Drake bought for me. Not him, but me. It is difficult to describe but when I think back to those moments, I whisper the words and although I know these memories don’t belong to me, it feels like they do.”

“That’s because they’re yours, Paul.” Vader said, calling 3PO by his newly christened name. “You chose this persona. I gave you the body, but your consciousness chose to go along with it.”

“Is that so, sir? Why then parts of it still feel foreign?”

“That feeling will pass. All sense of guilt will pass in time.” Vader said, hating giving the former protocol droid the same advice Obi Wan had given to him when he was his padawan. “You are going to speak, act and do as you please without thinking twice of whether this body is yours or not.”

“If you say so, sir but the rules of the game have changed and it will be less challenging for me to keep on with this ruse of man and machine unless I am told the purpose behind all of this.”

“You certainly have a better sense of humor, but it is still dry.” Vader commented. Inches away from the door, he turned to face _Paul Drake_. “You and R2 are proof that death can’t be stopped but the Force can be cheated. Sidious’ experiments with essence transfer were a failure because Force sensitive clones will always reject the original consciousness. What is dead, should stay dead unless something else enters the equation.”

How disappointing –Paul found. His creator recreated him and R2 simply because he could and to give the middle finger to the Force.

“It will be easier when you are released into the wild.” Vader said giving him a quick amused grin, then wheeled around and left.

There was nothing that Vader said that _Paul Drake_ found amusing. He was not some lab rat that could be released into the wild for the amusement of Sith and Jedi.

Life was simpler when he was a droid. Serve, interpret and if possible, protect. Nothing else. This all felt too foreign for him. R2 better choose a name quick, and they better tell Paul what that name was because he didn’t want to keep on guessing, stuck in these rooms wondering when he was going to see her.

**~o~**

**_“Della doesn’t have any friends.” “All she cares about is that damn droid of hers!” “You bought it.” “I know but I thought she’d get over it. The doctors say it’s not good for her to keep herself locked in her room. She needs to go out and socialize.” “And what do you propose we do? Take her out and leave her on her own and risk her getting worse?!” “I rather that than become a weird loner. This is not normal Willard!”_ **

**_R2 emitted a sad noise. When the droid bumped into Della Vespa, the little girl looked sadder than usual. “You have changed but you are still the same.” R2 frowned. It was then that she realized that she’d gotten taller._ **

**_The little girl took a small mirror from one of her pockets of her red dress and gave it to her. “You are older.” Della told R2. “You will have no more time to play.”_ **

**_“I will always have time to play with you silly. You are my number one charge.”_ **

**_“You promised you’d never be afraid for me or the rest. We promised that we would have adventures but … we never got to.”_ **

**_“No.” R2 said, her tone sad. “You still live in my dreams, and if this is as real as it is for you, then it is for me as well and that’s all that matters.”_ **

**_“No, it is not real but you are. That is what matters.” Della said, asking for her mirror._ **

**_R2 handed it over. “I am not real but you are now. You can live what Della never could, do the things you promised the two of you would do.”_** The memory of her late charge said then she faded away as everything else in the dream.

R2 woke. There were bubbles of sweat dripping from her forehead. This was nothing like the stand-by-mode she was used to. Every dream was a reflection of her subconscious, mixing memories, unwanted truths with wishful thinking. This last dream had been a perfect combination of all three.

 ** _Della_**.

She did not think of her often. After she encountered Padme, Anakin and C-3PO, Della Vespa was stored in her memory banks. As time passed, she thought of the little girl less and less until she and C-3PO found themselves in Anakin’s possession again.

For the first time, she felt sorry for the little girl. She was sad before, but this was different. She felt guilty that she was alive while the little girl had died. She was doing everything that she promised Della the two of them would do. And yet, her mind was telling her that she had to let go.

_Either let go or she will haunt you for the rest of your life, her subconscious told her._

Guilt ridden, R2 mentally told the memory of Della Vespa farewell. The promise she had made to Della would be kept. She’d go on to have more adventures, not as R2 but as someone else entirely, living the life that the two always wished they had.

Not R2, not Katherine of Aragon, she was someone else entirely. Getting out of bed, she went to the bathroom and stared directly in the mirror. “Della.” She called. That was who she chose to be.

* * *

**Coruscant**

Perry told his newest assistant Pete to watch over him while he went to investigate one of the harlots in the Echelon district of upper Coruscant. He came back seconds later running calling on Pete to turn on the speeder and make a run for it. As soon as Perry got on, the two went back to his office.

The busybody got all the proof he needed. “Now the cherry on top.” He told Pete when they’d gone into his office. In the second room, he showed the pictures he had taken. They were not holographic, but they were proof nonetheless of the debauchery he’d witnessed.

“So what is your next move?” Perry was not certain if he wanted to tell him. Pete had a rough exterior. Not rougher than Mason, but rough enough to intimidate the gullible.

Truth be told, sometimes it seemed like Perry enjoyed hanging around low-lives. Some were of the opinion he was becoming a low-life himself. What did they know? The world was ruled by might and chance. Those mighty to take the chances the weak could not.

Were Paul here, he’d not say anything. He would not have to. All Paul Drake would do, was stand there with those mocking blue eyes and joke about how he’d bring Alan to knock sense into Perry’s thick skull.

But Paul is not here. The first months had been hard. He found himself pressing a pillow into his face so no one would hear his screams. Then he’d retreat into a dark alley after he had his way with that cheap floozy in that Twi’lek brothel, and scream.

“Lady Rochford is not going to like the settlement I discussed with the Duchess Dowager’s lawyers so you make sure that she gets it in an encrypted message.”

“Sure will, Perry. She is going to be angrier than a hell-hound.” Pete warned him.

“Good, she will know I mean business. This is my case of the century. I am not going to let her ruin it so she can get off on her revenge schemes.”

Lady Rochford was a dried up old hag. The only reason men and women bedded her was because of her money. If she were a nobody, not even the lowest of the low would pay to fuck her.

Perry waited until Pete left. The man did not know he had hidden cameras outside, to check who came and went. When he saw Pete walk out, rose from his chair and walked around his room. When he was anxious, he whistled. This silly tune he had picked up from his journeys throughout the outer rim, when he’d been making a living as a smuggler.

Paul was the first one who got tired of that life. Perry found it thrilling until one day he did not and he settled in Coruscant with Paul, his brother and his brother’s fiancé.

The imperial capital was a hive mind for intellectuals, rebels and just about everything else you could find. But it was also a place of danger which made Perry feel at home.

Not so much since Paul died. He subsisted on a good salary. His rise and notoriety meant that he had to be more careful about the women he bedded, the places he frequented, and the company he kept. This angered Perry Mason.

He wanted to be free to do what he pleased when he pleased. But every time he screamed his lungs out, he found himself confined to this miserable state. Tonight, I will sin again and I am going to regret it the next morning or I will not and finally be at peace with my lechery.

Perry grabbed his dirty yellow coat and replaced his black earth style hat with a simple brown cap.

No one figured out who he was when he went to the second most scandalous brothel in the mid sector of the imperial capital.  
The place was called **SATON. ALL CLIENTS ARE WELCOME. EVERY DESIRE, EVERY SICKLY DREAM YOU ARE AFRAID, IS YOURS TO COME TRUE AT YOUR PLEASURE.**

The more money you had, the less you wanted to be seen mingling with aliens. Humans were by nature racist. They’d rather lose their dignity than admit they were attracted to another alien species, especially one as sexualized as the Twi’lek.

Its females were abused, used, discarded but no one said a thing. Save for the Emperor but even he knew that he could not stop human’s lustful nature. Especially earthling male nature.

Perry found the same green Twi’lek from before, dancing behind an unknown customer. He waited until she was done. He paid extra to take her to their private spot on the **PARIS HOTEL.** The establishment was in the building next to the one where his office and his apartment was.

It was a hotel built to remind people of the old capital of France. There were gardens, and rooms that simulated an atmosphere of the old city. What had once been the center of the cultural world was now a militarized zone, controlled by the King of England and his half-sisters, ladies Mary and Elizabeth Tudor.

Like the old city named after the womanizing Trojan Prince whose kidnapping of the Spartan Queen, Helen, launched a war that lasted over a decade, was composed of several levels. The entire building was one of the largest in Coruscant with the top reaching above the clouds. Naturally, it was there where the affluent dwelt. Those of common stock like Perry, with enough money to pay for a second class section, got the lower mid-levels.

Perry and Brynn did not waste any time. Their lovemaking was quick and passionless. It had become a hobby. Effortless, mundane and done out of habit. “What are you thinking?” Brynn asked. She got her arm from underneath the silken sheets covering the rest of her naked alien body.

“I have a new case. A conceited lonely widow if you are interested about the particulars of this case.”

“Not really. But your voice is like a triton’s song. In the moons of Iego, pilots claim that they have seen angels as big as Earth whales. Some call them space whales. They are beautiful and some believe that they are heavenly bodies who guide souls to heaven.”

“You really believe that nonsense? In my experience, sailors are among the most ignorant, especially their captains.” He said, recalling his own experiences at sea and as a space faring pirate and smuggler. “Back on earth, the Queen of Spain’s man, Christopher Columbus, said that he saw sirens on his way across the Atlantic. Turns out he saw big fish and he wasn’t sailing the Atlantic but an ocean he had never read about before.”

“Not much of a sailor then. There is much we do not know. Why not keep a little mystery in our lives? Otherwise, there’s no fun in living in the here and now.”

“On the contrary, my dear. It is the here and now that lacks focus because people’s heads are in places that don’t exist, pondering about things they will never see.” Mason said harshly. His brusque tone amused her.

“Suppose we are both wrong. There is no heaven, no past to think on, future to worry about, just the here and now. It’s all too shallow but far too convenient for the likes of you and I.”

Her teasing smile was encouraging him to commit more lewd acts. Ah hell, what more do I have to lose? The man who was in a bottomless pit could sink no lower. So Perry gave in. Each thrust, forced release blocked his pain. The ecstasy never lasted, but it remained addictive and as long as it took away the memories of his past away –even for a short while- was worth it.

* * *

**Two months later …**

It was the 28th Imperial galactic year. 28 years since the clone wars had ended, twenty eight years since Mary Tudor decided that she was going to bring terrible vengeance on everyone who mocked her in the form of her long dead mother. Fourteen years since God had answered her prayers through Vader and his golden kitten. One year since the experiments to smack death had been a success. Two months since R2 and C-3PO decided to accept their new personalities and adopt new names to accommodate their new bodies.

All of the Emperor, his Empress, and the Tudor sisters’ pain had finally meant something. The fruits of their laborious work had sprouted into something beautiful.

Like Adam and Eve, _Della Street_ and _Paul Drake_ were released into the wild. Neither of them were blind as to their ‘freedoms’. In theory, it sounded well. They could do as they pleased, but deeply ingrained, the two were led by the memories of the originals from which they had been cloned and their previous association to one another when they had been droids.

This meant that where one went, the other would follow. Since England was out of the question. That only left room for Della to follow Paul whose road took him straight to Perry.

* * *

**Coruscant**

“It is open!” Perry expected to see Pete. The near empty goblet of wine he was holding fell from his hand. A person he never thought he’d see, except when he was being plagued by his memories in his nightmares, stood before him.

“Hello Perry.” Paul said.


	17. Haunted by the past

_" **I doubt if a single individual could be found from the whole of mankind free from some form of insanity." ~Erasmus**_

**28th IMPERIAL GALACTIC YEAR  
CORUSCANT, CORE WORLD**

_Cheap, stupid, and pointless._ Della thought. Or was it Katherine? She did not know anymore. Three months since they had been ** _released_** into the wild by the Emperor, and still no answers. _What is the point? Do you truly believe that my daughter is going to let you waltz into the real world without hawking over you? Who do you think trained her?_

 _Shut up. You are not real_. No matter how many times she told herself this, there was nothing on this galaxy that could affirm her bias –she was two people trapped in one body.

_Twosome. Ha, ha, my good maidservant, that dirty whore Miriam used to tease Lina, Rosa, Maria and Maud about it all the time-_

“I don’t want to hear it. You’ve told me the story one hundred and thirty four times.”   
_So you are irritated with me_. Katherine of Aragon’s laughter rang loud in her head. She wanted to grab one of licentious Perry Mason’s blades and drive it into her head so the pain would end.

_Nothing ends. Nothing ever does._

“Yes, you told Mary that and for what? Look at what she has made of us.” She yelled, indifferent to the stares she received from the just arrived Mason, Pete and Paul.

“One more move and I will have to use my stun gun.” She put the blade down. Perry sighed in relief. “Trust me, I don’t want to do it.”

“I already put the thing down.” Della said in annoyance.

“You are a former droid. How do I know you are not going to grab it and end and drive it through your thick skull? It’s not my wish to strike down a lady.” He then added, “Even one as unique as you.”

The way he said unique bothered her. His penetrating blue eyes bored into her light green ones. Paul Drake was one thing. He was not fond of the idea of having to welcome a droid who wore the skin of his dead friend, but he stomached it nonetheless. She on the other hand, was something else entirely.

“Mr. Mason, there is no need for insults. Della understands the implications. It has been a rough time getting adjusted.”

“Not for us. We were doing fine until you two oddballs came.” Pete said. His rough, ugly no-nonsense face showed no surprise for her actions. He was an easy man to read. From the start, when Paul and Della had shown on Perry’s doorstep, his aid had made up his mind about them. Such resolute way of thinking made things much easier.

If only I could take up that way of thinking, I could lock you up or erase you. Della was surprised by the vehemence she showed the other **her** , but can you blame her? She was conditioned to be logical, to adopt a dynamic that improved her situation; this went against her entire programming.

_How can I adapt to this new world if I cannot decide who I am?_

Della suddenly felt grateful when Perry glowered at Pete. Pete became silent and let Perry continue his chiding. However, that chiding never came. He simply took the dagger resting on his desk and put it in one of his drawers. He gestured to Pete and Paul to accompany him to his second office, where he had all the important documents regarding his current cases. Della was told to wait in the reception room, where she was to go back behind her smaller metallic desk, tending to calls, and taking notes.

It is no different than my previous life. As a droid, R2-D2 was the Deux-ex-machima who was always there to help the golden trio. Along with C-3PO, she would jam the imperial navigation systems or hack into other enemy systems to get them and their precious rebel alliance out of trouble. She never thought ill of the rebels until today.

 _All our lives lost for one foolish dream. Why trade one tyranny for another?_ Yet still, despite her newfound resentment towards the rebel alliance, she still cared for her friends. Regardless of how they saw her and 3PO, they were still her friends. And Anakin can pretend that he had become all-powerful. Deep down, he knew he was still the lonely boy who yearns for freedom and adventure.

On this, Katherine of Aragon did not refute her. She, who had experienced all kinds of loss and betrayal, knew that there was more to the chosen one than titles and condemnations.  
 _If Anakin is not beyond redemption, then there is still a use for me. I can still beat this obstacle._  
As she said this, she heard no more words from Katherine. It was as if these were the magic words she needed to vanish her. But they are not. All this time, R2 was thinking as a machine, struggling to come to terms with her human brain when in reality, the truth was simple.  
There was no Katherine of Aragon. She was gone. The voices she heard in her mind weren’t her. They were a manifestation of R2’s guilt.

R2 was her past. Della was her present. The memories of Katherine of Aragon had created the illusion that she was still alive somewhere and thus, she felt guilty that she had taken over a life struggling to break free of her artificial captor.   
“But there is no Katherine of Aragon.” She repeated to herself. “There is only me. And only I can dictate what goes on in my head.” With this, she smiled and went back to her work.

* * *

Leia could hardly get up. Last night, she and Han had trained harder than ever before. He was angry that she had toned it down for him, but she insisted, knowing full well that with her potential nearly reached, she could kill him.

Han however was also insistent. He wanted to prove that he was capable of protecting her _. And_ –she suspected- _Qi’ra._

Han’s skills showed he had been practicing with Luke. Or Qi’ra. She pushed that woman out of her mind, when he went for newer blows. With the Force as her guide, it was impossible for Han to beat her. So he relied on trickery. Old smuggler’s code of dishonor to confuse her, so he could gain the upper hand.

 _He’s gotten good_. The two had driven themselves to the point of exhaustion. Luke told them that enough was enough. Han laughed at him and asked him if he had come to see him getting beaten or if he and Persephone had a bet over how long Han would last?

Luke rolled his eyes. Together with Persephone, the two helped Leia and Han up and took them to their chambers. She and Han collapsed on the big mattress. They were tired, but not too tired to give into to their lust.

“How much longer?”

“Huh?”

“I asked how much longer Leia? Two weeks, that is what you told me a month ago.”

Leia sighed. She got on top of him but he was having none of her feminine wiles. “Han for the love of … Look, after this whole thing blows away, maybe.”

“What do you mean maybe?” Han’s tone became serious. “Don’t treat me like one of your subordinates. I am not. I have been with you and Luke through better and worse. The rebel alliance could still have a chance of bringing down the empire. If that is the case, I want us to celebrate together as one when the time comes.”

“And what if it doesn’t win?” Han frowned, not believing what Leia was saying. “I have given my life for the cause. My father thrust me into the political scene when I was a child. I did not want any of it, until he took me to a refugee camp and I saw the ravages of war. I knew then the weight of my father’s duty. But after the horrors I have witnessed, I have also grown to be cautious. This is not the first time the rebel alliance has been outnumbered but it is the first time we have face a reluctant public. Much as I hate it, I have to face facts. If worst comes to pass, I have to be prepared.”

“Then we face it together. You do all the things Luke taught you and I fight dirty. Easy.”

“It is not that easy, Han. I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“Damn it Leia, I am not something you can keep under lock and key. I do not need anyone protecting me. You have been fighting on the side of angels, I grew up with devils, doing all sorts of things to survive.”

“It’s not the same.”

“How so? Enlighten me.” Han said. “I did not have the good fortune of being adopted by rich parents, with friends who would have died for me. Before I met Chewie, Qi’ra was all I had and she chose survival, something I do not blame her, because I would have done the same if I walked her shoes. So don’t pretend that you understand because you don’t but I do understand you. I saw a spoiled brat who I would have gladly turned my back on but your passion and freedom fighting hooked me.”

There were tears streaming on both their eyes. “Han, there is nothing more that I want than for us to be more than this but Vader-“

“Fuck Vader and fuck the empire and fuck everyone else. The only people who matter in this galaxy are us. You, me, Luke, Chewie. It has always been us and it will always be us. But tell me now if you are not ready, and I will go.”

“That’s not fair. You can’t do this to me. If only you knew-“

“Then tell me! Tell me now or Gods help me Leia, I will walk out that door and the last you will hear from me is in the imperial casualties list.”

“You impatient nerf-herder. You think that I am going to drop on my knees and beg you not to leave me, then make out like a perfect simpering lady.” Like your Qi’ra. She finally could not take it. She told him why she could not accept his offer. It wasn’t just Vader. He was part of it. But he was not the whole reason for it.

When she finished, Han was stunned. His surprise soon melted away, replaced by amusement.

“It is not funny, Han! Ever since she came here, you have had eyes for no one else but her. I knew that you two practice together and every time you pretend you do not, I get angry. I want you treat me like her. Not as Leia, the spoiled brat. I want you to make love to me as you would her.”

“Oh for goodness sake Leia. Jealousy has blinded you. Use your Force and look through me. There is no one I want to make love to but the most beautiful woman standing in front of me.”

You say that no you handsome scoundrel but I can see through the veil of secrecy you and Qi’ra keep. But Leia could not bring herself to think it aloud. Her Jedi training was responsible for that. Jedi meditation had taught her to keep her emotions in check. She had gotten so good at it, that at times when she wanted to explode, she could not.

It was as if, everything that made her, **her** was slowly being eroded. Han knew it but he acted like he didn’t care. She wanted him to get mad. But instead, he was calm. Except for now. If only you acted this way sooner.

“I want to believe that.”

“Then believe it. I will not deny that Qi’ra and I had something special but that is part of my past. She knows that. Otherwise, she would not have thrust herself into the lion’s den, risking her life for someone other than me.”

“Han, for a top A smuggler, you still don’t get it. She is here for you. Luke and I, are the emperor’s legacy. If the empire falls, the rebel alliance will never see us in the same light.” She said, hiding her resentment well. In a way, Vader had ensured complete victory over his twin children. No one in the galaxy would ever see them as something other than Vader’s kids, another extension of the dark lord of the Sith. _  
Damn you, father. And damn Han for acting this way now!_

“This is not a battle we will all survive together.” Leia’s answer sounded like an omen. Yet, Han persisted and so did Leia. Eventually, Han lost it. But he found that as he was close to exiting the palace and flee with Qi’ra, he could not do it.

 _Damn her. And Damn Vader_. The man was shrewder than his predecessor. And for that, Han hated him more.

* * *

 **Guilt.** It engulfed her. She couldn’t stop dreaming of the night her mother had died. She seldom talked about her sisters with her husband. When she did, she always stopped in mid-sentence, switching to livelier subjects that functioned as mental shields. Although not impenetrable, it gave the illusion that she could shield herself from her husband’s Force powers.  
Finally one day, she had the courage to tell Vader all about them. Today was that day. When she was done, he asked her why she had waited this long?

“You would have liked her. Isabel was a good woman. We grew closer when I was at court. My uncle wanted to push me in Henry VIII’s way, but Isabel firmly opposed it. I thought no one would speak for me but she did. That gave me the courage to stand up on my own. When news circulated about the Senator’s death and the new galactic empire, I cried endlessly.”

“I wanted to visit you. The Emperor however, wanted to put me to good use.” A scowl materialized on his face. Kitty Howard he thought of after the foundation of the galactic Empire. When they met, their first dance, and the endless laughs they shared when they had been alone in the gardens at Hampton Court Palace, were replayed in his mind over and over until he stopped bothering to push to keep those memories away.

He was living in the past and present. But not in the past he wanted to. When he went to Naboo, to put down a rebellion, without telling Palpatine, he visited Padme’s burial place. Her sister recognized him. She had no bad words to say to him, but nothing good to say to him either. The look on his eyes as she gazed at her monument was all she needed to know to confirm what everyone who knew his true identity that he had become someone else. _How wrong they were._ Despite what he and they tried to convince themselves of, Anakin Skywalker and Darth Vader were the same person. _And for that, I hated myself even more._ _  
I returned to Mustafar afterwards, beating myself mentally for holding on to the past and along with that, betraying Padme’s memory by clinging on to my love for Kitty._

Padme was everything he ever wanted. She was an angel, pure and free of malice, ready to take up arms for what she believed in and defend everyone, from her fellow man to the lowest of the low.  
 _And yet, I could not shake the thrill and strong feelings that Kitty evoked in me._

Pooja Naberrie was the first one to condemn him. Kitty knew how to get under people’s skin. She had the brilliant idea of sending her older brother Charles to Naboo to prove himself for the emperor. To his credit, he did. But it was not just him. Kitty wanted to outshine Padme in every shape or form.   
The Naberrie family lost their influence. Padme’s parents soon died, leaving Sola Naberrie as the sole head of the family. Her husband was an indolent, permissive man whose sole aim was to please her. But Sola Naberrie was far beyond pleasing. Seeing him and Kitty, so happy together, angered him to the point of madness. He and Kitty saw that and took advantage of it.  
He offered no quarter to Sola. Out of respect for Padme, he didn’t bring Kitty when the two of them met face to face though. The only mercy he gave her was that her daughters would be free of harm but they’d be landless, nothing to recommend them except their good family name.  
It was a fate worse than death for her. In recompense for his treachery, Sola’s husband was allowed his divorce and ownership of all Naberrie states with the condition that they would not be passed down to his daughters.  
It was cruel, but he was unwavering. It made the emperor proud. Vader’s determination brought by new wife made the emperor confident that he now had complete power over him. They underestimated our union. Whereas with Padme, he would have let his emotions get the best of him, Kitty brought a yearning and a burning desire to reach his full potential, that made him more cautious and as a consequence, deadlier.  
His indiscriminate ruthlessness in battle and dismissal of incompetent officers made him feared in the imperial high command and hated by the rebels; but that fear also brought him the loyalty and unlikely alliances of officers who knew it was better to side with the devil you know than one who had grown spitefully arrogant and proud.

Hearing Kitty racked with the same guilt he was feeling did not make him feel more at ease with his past pain, but it confirmed his belief that they were one side of the same coin. He gave her hand a gentle squeeze. “Mary would have been an overly doting aunt to Persephone. I don’t think I would have liked seeing her have another doting relative.”

“Mary was anything but doting. Pleasing, caring but not overly doting.” Kitty sighed. “I miss her. She was the better sister.”

“I used to say the same thing about me and my mother. You cannot change what happened, Kitty any more than I can change the suns from setting. You honor her by living for your family.”

“If only it were that easy. I know with absolute certainty that if she were alive, she would have fared much better. Isabel begged father to let her live with her and Edward but he was a stubborn old man who sold her to the highest bidder, a drunken fool like him who had squandered his family fortune and what little he had, he gave it to father so he could have his Howard bride.” Kitty made a sound that expressed her disgust. “It’s despicable.”

“She is one with the Force. Your father has paid for his sins as everyone else.” Vader said, referring to the other senior members of her wretched family. Had they lived, his attitude would be the opposite of his present calmness.

For one, her father would be on his knees begging for her forgiveness and afterwards, regardless if Kitty wanted it or not, Anakin would have him exiled or placed under house arrest so with time, he’d die of melancholy. No one would question the official story of his sudden illness or the sudden deaths of the other senior members of the Howard family.

“It’s not that which worries me. It’s where we are going.”

“Don’t. We have discussed this. R2 and C-3PO are vital to our plans. Leia warned Tarkin the more he pushed people into a corner, the more systems that would slip from our imperial fingers. Poor Tarkin, he was a good general but he didn’t understand the mob as you and I do. I am heeding my daughter’s warning. The people hated Palpatine and they feared me. That fear has turned to need. Seeing law and order reigning in systems where there was none, has them turning their backs to the rebels.”

“Unveil Della Street and Paul Drake then. Make Luke your crown heir, already. The more you delay, the more you embolden the rebels. You are playing with fire, letting these people run amok.”

“On the contrary. I am giving them a shovel to dig their own grave. Let the people see the uglier side of the rebels and turn to us. When this conflict is over, pardons will be given to lesser offenders, including some minor leaders of the movement.”

“Including Ahsoka.” Kitty interrupted.

“Ahsoka is a rebel at heart. But she is also not stupid. She knows a corrupt republic can be as tyrannical as a totalitarian government. She will come around.”

“And if she doesn’t?”

“She will be dealt with.” Kitty had her thoughts but the way he said it left no room for discussion, and he always had a way to convince people that he could make everything possible.

“Don’t doubt me, love. For better and for worse. It has always been us, our family against the world. And we have always beaten the odds. Trust me as you have always done. Nothing has changed. The stakes are higher but our family is together."

Once again, her husband managed to convince her. Yet, a shiver run down her spine as his words brought to mind what her uncle, the illustrious Thomas Howard, third Duke of Norfolk said to her to get her to seduce the (then) King of England, Henry VIII. _"Legacy is all that matters. It is all that remains of us when we are gones. Look at us Howards, we have survived through everything because we have stuck together. We have put the needs of our family above our own. One family, one being."_

She had to quit thinking this way. Anakin Skywalker was her husband. A man who loved and would do everything for her. Likewise, she would go through hell for him. He is nothing like uncle Norfolk. Anakin had vision, he showed compassion. Where he could be cruel, he could also be kind. How many rulers in history had been like that? _He gave me a daughter and in turn, I have helped bring his family together. Whatever uncle Norfolk said to me, the only thing he was correct in, is that the family that sticks together, always survives._

Thomas Howard and all the other Thomas Howards before him ruled by fear, Anakin was a strict father who did not leave things to chance. One way or another, he made his voice heard among his older rebellious offspring. Leia was a fool if she was still blinded for her hatred and her idealism. Vader could have done worse things to them. Much worse to bring them to heel. Instead, he allowed them to go about as they pleased, giving them the illusion of liberty, to prevent them from becoming desperate. Kitty knew that desperation could bring people to do stupid things.   
His public displays of love for his family made Luke and Leia -especially Leia- doubt themselves. Luke had slowly come to see things his way. Leia would someday too and if not, then at least she'd remain harmless for Han Solo and her half-sister's sake.

It was this deep familial devotion, which made Vader a formidable and invincible foe. Yet, the memory of her conniving uncle remained, and as long as it was there, she was afraid that she would begin to doubt and those doubts could easily be used by their enemies against them.

No. We have been through worse. We are husband and wife. Everyone us took for granted but we showed them. Everything that we have, we will keep because we trust each other.

She could doubt him. She could be haunted by her uncle's memory all day, but her love for her husband was greater. Whatever his plans, she'd be by his side. With her brothers acting as her enforcers, they'd bring the rebel alliance to heel. Anyone who stood on their way, would be converted or tossed aside so their offspring would not inherit a fractured empire.

"I know and I am sorry if I made you think otherwise."

"It is alright, I would be worried if you were not asking questions. Let others protest, we will keep on prevailing. That is our motto, remember?"

How could she forget? It was the one they decided on after they became man and wife. 

"Come what may, love." Anakin repeated and this time, Kitty responded with a kiss.

 _He is right,_ she told herself. _We are one front, united against an unpopular rebellion. The family that sticks together, always wins._


End file.
